Plant-based food brand Heura has made an in-kind donation to leading UK food charity Refettorio Felix to help provide nutritious plant-based meals to Londoners in need during January. The donation was made to celebrate Veganuary, the global challenge started in the United Kingdom that encourages people around the world to go vegan for the month of January. 400,000 people from 192 countries joined this initiative last year, and over one million people have taken part in the challenge since its inception. 

US Foods announced that since March the company has donated more than $35 million in food and supplies to fight hunger during the COVID-19 pandemic, the equivalent of approximately 17 million meals.

Silk Kids Almondmilk Yogurt Alternative is the latest innovation from Silk, America's number-one plant-based beverage and a leader in yogurt alternatives, and is designed with kids and parents in mind. The new yogurt alternative is fortified with Calcium and Vitamin D to help support strong bones and has 25% less sugar per ounce1 than average flavored yogurt alternatives. Silk Kids Almondmilk Yogurt Alternative is also peanut-free, gluten-free, lactose-free and Non-GMO Project Verified – making it a good allergen-friendly option for lunchtime and snack time. The dairy-free yogurt alternative comes in three delicious flavors including Mixed Berry, Apple Cinnamon and Strawberry, and will be available at select retailers starting December 2020.

Smithfield Foods donated more than 38,000 pounds of protein to Feed More as part of the Heart of Virginia Council of the Boy Scouts Of America Scouting for Food annual food drive. As the presenting sponsor of this year's food drive, Smithfield also donated $15,000 earlier this year to cover the costs of the BSA program. Local Scout troops were able to collect almost 60,000 pounds of food this year, the equivalent of nearly 50,000 meals which Feed More will distribute across 29 counties and five cities in Central Virginia.

KeHE Cares, in partnership with New Hope Network, is delivering the first-of-its-kind virtual Serving Goodness Event, which will help deliver 80,000 meals to families experiencing food scarcity due to the pandemic.

Americold, the world's largest publicly-traded owner and operator of temperature-controlled warehouses, has partnered with Feed the Children, a leading nonprofit focused on alleviating childhood hunger, to support COVID-19 relief for families in crisis.

In the upcoming September issue of Refrigerated & Frozen Foods, we highlight the pandemic pivots made by Sysco and US Foods in 2020 due to COVID-19 and its effect on foodservice clients like restaurants, hotels, caterers, stadiums, and other volume venues. While putting that story together, we also had a chance to speak to another foodservice distribution giant, Golden State Foods (GSF) and its Chairman and CEO, Mark Wetterau.

Pierre’s Ice Cream has created a special line of ice cream pints in recognition of all heroes – everyone who has adapted, struggled, sacrificed and persevered during this challenging time – and to raise money for local food banks.

 Perdue Farms has delivered 40,000 pounds of protein to help the West Annapolis Pop Up Pantry in its mission to provide underserved families with nutritious meals amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The donation is part of Perdue’s “Delivering Hope To Our Neighbors” hunger-relief initiative that is helping provide meals for struggling individuals and families.

The Refrigerated Foods Association (RFA) reports a collective donation of $8,000 to Feeding America during 2020’s National Deli Salad Month (July).  Member companies committed to donating both monetarily and with in-kind donations as a collective effort to combat hunger in their own communities.  Hands-on volunteer work was also encouraged. Their July fundraiser resulted in a total of $8,000 for Feeding America, the nation’s largest domestic hunger-relief organization.   Hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of food is also donated to local food banks each year by these businesses.