Helping America's food banks
As one of the largest food companies in the United States, we are committed to meeting the everyday nutrition needs of the American people. That's why for more than a quarter of a century we have been working in partnership with America's Second Harvest – the nation's food bank network, a non-profit organisation that distributes food to more than 200 food banks across the US.
In 2005, nearly two billion pounds of food and grocery products were provided through the Second Harvest network. Available through food pantries, soup kitchens, emergency shelters and other distributions centres, the foods helped over 25 million Americans stave off the risk of hunger. Nine million of these were children.
In 2005, Unilever's product donations made up 7.6 million pounds of the charity's total food basket – a threefold increase on our previous year's donation. In total, Unilever US gives away products worth around $12.5 million every year, around 70% of which goes to the Second Harvest's hunger-relief work.
"America's Second Harvest is extremely grateful to Unilever for their generous donations of a wide variety of products – from Skippy peanut butter, which is extremely valued by our food banks for its high nutritional value, to personal care products," said Vicky Escarra, Chief executive of the hunger-relief charity.
Donating our time
In addition, our employees donate their time to help Second Harvest get food to the people who need it. In 2005, for example, more than 300 employees participated in volunteer events at Second Harvest centres, which stretch across all the US states. Activities included fundraising, packaging items at local foodbanks and picking crops.
"Because of Unilever's generosity and team efforts, we have helped feed thousands of people in the state of New Jersey," said one volunteer from our Customer Development team. "Taking on a leadership role with this project allowed me to really understand the Second Harvest and meet several people we will continue to work with in the future."
Hurricanes Katrina & Rita
The devastating effects of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005 caused us to re-double our efforts to help Americans in need. Working closely with the Second Harvest Network and the American Red Cross, we distributed products worth over $4 million to affected communities. In conjunction with our non-profit partners, we also helped bring shelter, hot meals, medical and mental health services to victims of the hurricanes.
We donated $1 million to relief efforts following the hurricanes - divided equally between the American Red Cross and the Salvation Army. Our employees also dug deep, contributing over $600 000 as part of a matching-gift programme.
Our people took a hands-on approach to helping. Employees in Connecticut, for example, collected water, tents, blankets and other supplies that they delivered to the National Guard. Employees in other Unilever sites assisted evacuees in settling into their new communities, undertook a range of fund-raising activities and participated in the reconstruction programme.
As John Rice, President of Unilever Americas and of the Unilever US Foundation,says: "At Unilever, we are committed to doing our part to address the health concerns caused by hunger, natural disasters and other tragedies.
"It is our everyday mission to meet people's needs for nutrition, hygiene and personal care. We hope that, through both financial assistance and consumer product donations, we can contribute to making growth and recovery a little easier for all those affected, both in the US and around the world."
