US Foods is donating approximately $250,000 of food to help the Greater Chicago Food Depository, Chicago’s food bank, bring pop-up food pantries to communities of color on Chicago’s South and West Sides, which have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19, longtime food insecurity and the recent civil unrest.

While the origin of a cluster of coronavirus infections in Beijing, China, is unknown, some officials are suggesting the virus was present on chopping boards used to cut imported salmon. The speculation is also drawing a misleading conclusion that frozen foods can contribute to the spread of coronavirus. As the leading association representing the U.S. frozen food industry, the American Frozen Food Institute (AFFI) is providing information on what we currently know regarding the science and spread of coronavirus.

Sysco has launched its Restaurant Readiness Tool, a first-of-its kind simulation that intuitively provides a comprehensive view of best practices, key considerations and essential supplies for operators reopening their restaurants as COVID-19 stay-at-home orders continue to ease.

Atlas Copco USA’s employee-driven Water for All program launches its second round of COVID-19 relief, supporting the distribution of fresh drinking water to Navajo Nation. Atlas Copco will provide $25,000 to Can’d Aid, enabling the organization to deliver more than 50,000 cans of fresh drinking water to the area.

Lee Kum Kee, a leader in authentic Asian sauces and flavors partnered with the largest Asian dining concept in the U.S.--Panda Express--to prepare over 1,000 bowls for the health care staff on the front lines treating COVID-19 patients at St. Jude Medical Center in Fullerton, California; Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Hospital in Los Angeles; and Dignity Health California Hospital in Los Angeles. Lee Kum Kee is gathering members of their volunteer team to help distribute these bowls on site and to make sure that each frontline staff member receives a meal. 

To address concerns about the introduction and spread of COVID-19 at customer workplaces, Hyster-Yale Group is introducing a virus safety initiative for lift trucks.  Developed in partnership with its nationwide dealer network for the company’s Yale and Hyster lift truck brands, HY-Shield Clean is a lift truck sanitization program designed to help keep facility personnel safe during all aspects of forklift activity, including daily operation and service calls.

EnerSys will once again unite with the Industrial Truck Association (ITA) to support the annual National Forklift Safety Day. Now in its seventh year, this special day will be held on June 9, 2020, and serves as an important reminder in keeping the safety of forklift operators top of mind. This year’s event carries even greater importance due to the global crisis resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, as supply chain operations are in overdrive to ensure the flow of products and resources in all industries across the nation.  

Cooper Farms is donating $500 to The Ohio Association of Foodbanks as a part of team member and social media outreach. The company is also donating another 25,200 dozen eggs to foodbanks in Lima and Toledo, to provide much needed protein. This donation comes just weeks after a donation of nearly 6,000 pounds of turkey and two truckloads of eggs to the association.

In an effort to give back to communities that have been adversely affected by the recent pandemic, John Soules Foods donated a truckload with over 37,000 lbs. of chicken to a charitable organization in Boerne, Texas, serving the Hill Country area of Texas. The company delivered 150,000 portions of boneless chicken wings, tenders, and chicken fillets to the Hill Country Daily Bread Ministries in Boerne, Texas, which serves eight surrounding counties to help people in need.

Amid a devastating pandemic that’s crippling economies worldwide, here’s a Port of Oakland (Port) bright spot: meat exports to Asia. the Port said today its meat exports jumped 26% in the first quarter of 2020 over Q1 2019. The Port said it now controls 42% of the market for meat exports leaving U.S. West Coast ports. Its nearest competitor, the Port of Long Beach, has 31% of the market.