Bank of America volunteers partner with Food Bank of Delaware to provide food to families in need
December 12, 2018
To recognize Bank of America’s annual Give A Meal program, the Food Bank of Delaware’s Mobile Pantry visited Calvary Church yesterday afternoon. Volunteers from Bank of America conducted financial education classes and distributed food to 50 families through the Mobile Pantry program.
The hour-long class focused on credit repair, savings and home ownership. The class is part of the bank’s larger initiative, Better Money Habits, in conjunction with the Khan Academy. At the conclusion of the class, Bank of America employees distributed food from the Food Bank of Delaware’s Community Nutrition and Education truck, funded by Bank of America.
Recipients received a meal box, chicken, frozen blueberries, eggs, milk, baked goods and produce.
“We are thrilled to partner with Food Bank of Delaware for today’s Give A Meal event,” said Chip Rossi, Market President, Bank of America. “It is so important to fight food insecurity in our community, and by providing financial education classes and promoting financial literacy, we can work toward a long term solution. The Give a Meal campaign highlights exactly what we value at Bank of America – giving back and encouraging others to do the same. We are overjoyed that we were able to match $1.5 million in donations this year.”
For every one dollar donated to the Give A Meal campaign − an annual hunger-relief initiative by Bank of America and Feeding America that has provided more than 255 million meals in seven years to families in need − Bank of America donated two more dollars to local food banks, such as the Food Bank of Delaware. Bank of America matched donations up to $1.5 million.
“We can always count on Bank of America to help achieve our vision of a community free of hunger,” said Food Bank of Delaware President and CEO Patricia Beebe. “In the last seven years, we have received more than $300,000 through the Give a Meal campaign. This donation is on top of Bank of America’s yearly commitment to support food insecure Delawareans through countless food drives, volunteer initiatives and grant awards. We couldn’t serve our community without this support. When we work together, we can achieve great things.”
According to Feeding America, in Delaware, 114,370 people are struggling with hunger – 34,240 of whom are children. Food security is a fundamental first step on the path to economic mobility and empowerment. Bank of America, Feeding America and Food Bank of Delaware are working together to ensure that families don’t have to choose between feeding their families and paying for basic necessities like rent, heat, or medical care.
“It was an honor to be the host location for today’s distribution,” said Margaret Young, Calvary Church’s Benevolence Director. “Calvary has been serving our community for over 64 years. We are one big family connected by our love for Christ and our love for people. People are our focus. It is our desire to help our community, show goodwill, and extend charity and kindness to those who are in need. We salute the Food Bank of Delaware and Bank of America, and share their commitment to alleviate hunger in our community, and to empower individuals by providing financial education classes.”
Bank of America supports hunger relief as part of its broader commitment to help advance long-term community sustainability and economic mobility for individuals and families.
