Last Updated on October 7, 2021
In 2020, 35 million people in America faced hunger. That is more than one in nine people across the country.
At ButcherBox™, we’re dedicated to getting more wholesome food on more people’s plates and that’s why we are teaming up with Feeding America® once again this year to help end hunger in our communities.
Food insecurity—a lack of consistent access to enough food for every person in a household to live an active, healthy life—is one way that Feeding America measures how many people cannot afford food. While 1 in 9 people in America are food insecure on an annual basis, the COVID-19 pandemic created even more food insecurity which Feeding America estimates to be closer to 1 in 6 people that were food insecure in 2020.
Whether rural, suburban, or major metropolitan centers, every community in the country is home to families who face hunger. Because of systemic racial injustice, hunger in African-American, Latino, and Native American communities is even higher. To achieve a hunger-free America, we acknowledge, alongside the Feeding America team, that we must address the root causes of hunger and structural and systemic inequities.
Photo source: National Food Insecurity Estimates by Race or Ethnicity, 2019
Feeding America made a commitment in June 2020 to, “stand together with the Black community knowing that ‘justice for all’ is a choice.” We are excited about the progress they’ve made to advance equity, diversity, and inclusion both within their organization and in getting communities more access to food. We’ve learned a lot from their Racial Equity Dashboard and are glad to see data as the organization’s foundation for initiatives and solutions around inclusive and equitable food access. Read here to learn more about Feeding America’s progress and commitments.
Outside of their equity, diversity, and inclusion commitments, in 2020 Feeding America was able to distribute nearly 5.2 billion meals nationwide, and ButcherBox was proud to be able to donate 1.5 million of those meals. In fact, our community of members was responsible for helping us donate one-third of those meals through our Wholesome Giving Campaign, so this year, we are going for more!
Beginning Thursday, October 7, we’re launching our third Feeding America donation campaign, Deals for Meals. For every Feeding America Member Deal added between 10/7/21 and 10/13/21, we’ll donate 30* meals per deal to Feeding America, up to 750,000 meals. We’re asking our community to purchase some amazing deals and help us give meals to those in need through our special Feeding America Member Deals page.
Feeding America is a nationwide network of 200 local food banks and 60,000 food pantries and meal programs that together serve more than 40 million people each year. Feeding America’s vision is an America where no one is hungry and that, by 2025, there will be access to enough nutritious food for people struggling with hunger.
We can all make meaningful strides towards this mission of ending hunger.
We hope you’ll join us in working towards that vision and mission!
*$1 helps to provide at least 10 meals secured by Feeding American on behalf of local member food banks.
Evadne Cokeh is ButcherBox's VP of Social and Environmental Responsibility. She is working to develop the company's social and environmental responsibility strategy and is the Chair of ButcherBox's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee.
