The holiday season is all about giving: giving gifts to your friends, sharing food with your loved ones, and giving back to your community. During the holidays, there are so many ways to give back to people in need and everyone can support the community in their own way. From volunteering at soup kitchens, to donating to homeless shelters, to spending time promoting a cause close to your heart, there are so many things you can do.
And while individuals have many opportunities to support charitable organizations, companies play an important role as well. That’s why for the third year in a row, T-Mobile partnered with Feeding America on Giving Tuesday to provide meals* to people in need all over the country. The company kicked off the giving season on December 3 — by engaging millions of customers through the T-Mobile Tuesdays app and on social using the hashtag #GivingOnUs. With the help of T-Mobile’s customers and community, they were able to give 5 million meals to Feeding America for this campaign. But that was just the beginning – thousands of employees spent the rest of the month organizing and participating in volunteer events at Feeding America member food banks around the country helping to stack, sort and distribute food in their local communities.
Here’s what Jenn Kovacs, Feeding America’s Interim Chief Development Officer, had to say about the impact of Feeding America and T-Mobile’s partnership:
What is Feeding America and how do they partner with T-Mobile?
Hunger is an issue that impacts every community across the country. Thirty seven million people, including more than 11 million children, may not know where they will find their next meal.
Unlike, say, buying groceries at a store at everyday sticker prices, Feeding America works directly with major manufacturers, retailers, and other partners across the country to secure safe, healthy food that would otherwise go to waste — up to 72 billion pounds of food is wasted in America each year. Every dollar donated to Feeding America helps secure and distribute at least 12 pounds of food. With an average meal, excluding water, weighing in at about 1.2 pounds of food, according to the USDA, we’re able to help feed 10 people for every dollar. Kind of astonishing — but true!
T-Mobile’s commitment to Feeding America went beyond giving Tuesday this year. When T-Mobile’s CEO John Legere published a cookbook, #SlowCookerSunday, he donated all proceeds to support ending hunger in this country giving $1 million, the equivalent of 10 million meals, to children, families and seniors in need. This brings T-Mobile’s total contribution to 15 million meals for the year!
With the Slow Cooker Sunday donation and our Giving Tuesday partnership earlier this month, we are tremendously grateful for T-Mobile’s commitment in helping to fight hunger and bringing national attention to this critical issue. We are thankful for partners like John Legere and T-Mobile who engaged customers, employees and the public at large through campaigns, in-store activations and the cookbook itself.
How important is it for people to donate on a smaller level, and how can the average person pitch in and make a difference?
Everyone has a role to play in ending hunger, whether that’s making a donation, volunteering time at a local food bank, or using your voice on social media to spread the word. The Feeding America nationwide network of 200 food banks and 60,000 meal programs includes soup kitchens, schools, and food pantries. Food banks rely on donors and volunteers to carry out their day-to-day operations. It’s easy to support right in your community to help your neighbors in need. Feeding America has tons of resources for helping you find your food bank and learning how you can take action.
How important is it for industry leaders like John Legere and T-Mobile to give back? What can other industry leaders and/or companies learn from this charge?
At Feeding America, we know that we cannot end hunger alone. Individuals, businesses, charities and government entities can all join the fight. The involvement of T-Mobile’s leadership helps to truly shine a spotlight on the issue of hunger and efforts that are helping to change things for the better in communities across the country.
Has this partnership with T-Mobile influenced what Feeding America does in any way, and will the impact be felt down the line in the future?
The success of this partnership will go a long way toward helping children and families who count on our support. The T-Mobile Giving Tuesday campaign not only helped to feed millions of families, it also generated awareness and engagement with millions of potential donors and volunteers. Too many people in this country are forced to make tough choices between food and other life essentials, like rent or medical care. Food banks are on the ground providing food to people who need it most. They prepare food boxes that are delivered to the homes of seniors and provide food to school pantries and BackPack programs that are distributed to kids at the end of the day. And we’re providing more than just meals: We are helping to ensure children receive proper nutrition for their growth and development.
How can everyone reading this get involved with Feeding America?
You can make a donation to Feeding America or your local food bank, volunteer, or post on social media. There are lots of simple but effective ways to pitch in. For more information on how you can get involved, check out www.feedingamerica.org
*$1 helps provide at least 10 meals secured by Feeding America on behalf of local member food banks.
