Lineage’s Holidays Without Hunger Challenge in 2020
December 03, 2020
Lineage is prouder than ever to be stepping up once again this holiday season to support the communities in which we live and work through our annual Holidays Without Hunger challenge.
Food insecurity is something that affects our communities year-round, but in times of crisis the most vulnerable are at even greater risk. In fact, the Global Foodbanking Network estimates that 1 in 4 people around the globe are malnourished.
Due to the impact of COVID-19, more than 50 million people in the US alone are expected to face food insecurity this year, including a potential 17 million children (via Feeding America). And yet, despite the overwhelming need, we also know that each year billions of pounds of food go to waste.
It’s not in our DNA to shy away from a challenge – or to do the right thing. And in 2020, our ability to make an impact is especially great.
Pushing forward through a global pandemic.
Lineage launched Holidays Without Hunger in 2019 to drive awareness and community engagement within our U.S. operations—and, of course, inspire a bit of friendly challenge to see which Lineage team will make the greatest impact on hunger in their community.
Last year, our team members in the U.S. organized 108 volunteer events preparing over 818,000 lbs. of food at area food banks and drove more than 48,000 lbs. of direct donations of food—add to that our team facilitated the donation of over 341,500 lbs. of food by our customers in under 30 days!
Special shoutouts to the teams at our Charleston – Palmetto Commerce and Riverside 3 facilities who were the highest earning locations within Lineage’s East and West North American operating areas in 2019.
Due to COVID-19 restrictions, this year’s competition will be less-focused on in-person volunteering, and Lineage teams will participate by completing various actions like canned food drives, fundraisers for area food banks and facilitating donations of food products by our customers.
This holiday season, we’re also taking the competition global. For the first time, our One Lineage Europe team is getting in on the action.
Lineage team members have a track record of setting ambitious goals and crushing them decisively. We have no doubt this year’s campaign will be a huge success no matter the obstacles – that’s just how we roll.
Living our purpose during times in need, and every day we come to work.
At Lineage, our purpose is to transform the food supply chain to eliminate waste and help feed the world. Every day, our team members are having an impact on hunger and helping to feed our communities through a safe and efficient food supply chain.
Our partnerships with Feeding America and the Global Foodbanking Network are a natural extension of that work and we are proud of what we’ve accomplished together this year. It is because of our team members that we were able to provide more than 100 million meals to those in need during a global pandemic – and why we were recognized for the first time as a Feeding America Visionary Partner, a responsibility we don’t take lightly.
No doubt, we are humbled to continue giving back to help feed our communities and the world – not just during the holidays, but every day.
