P&G Celebrates 40 Years of Partnership With Feeding America®

This year Procter & Gamble is celebrating 40 years of partnership with Feeding America, a nonprofit organization committed to advancing transformational hunger relief across the United States to help communities most at risk of experiencing food insecurity. By working together, alongside food banks, policymakers and communities, we are helping to further Feeding America’s mission to advance change in the U.S. by ensuring equitable access to nutritious food for all.

In 2021, nearly 34 million people in America, including more than 9 million children, faced hunger. Research shows that people of color are disproportionately affected by food insecurity and face greater difficulty accessing adequate and nutritious food. The economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic has only exacerbated these racial and geographic hunger disparities.

Feeding America, the nation’s largest domestic hunger-relief organization, alleviates food insecurity by serving tens of millions across the U.S. each year via its nationwide network of 200 food banks, 21 statewide food bank associations and more than 60,000 partner agencies, food pantries and meal programs. This network provides at least 10 meals for distribution on behalf of member food banks for every dollar donated, and 98.5% of contributions go directly to programs that serve people facing hunger.

Through monetary and food donations, as well as rescuing 4.7 billion pounds of good, safe groceries annually that would otherwise go to waste, Feeding America was able to provide a record 6.6 billion meals to people facing hunger in fiscal year 2021.

Beyond food insecurity, research has shown that low-income families in the U.S. find it difficult to afford basic essential household items that are important in maintaining good personal health and clean homes for their families. To help address these challenges, P&G and its brands have donated more than $10 million and more than 35 million pounds of basic essential products since 1982.

Since 2013, P&G has been partnering with Feeding America member food banks to reach children and their families in creative ways through BackPack and School Pantry Programs. This funding helps Feeding America serve even more households, ensuring that more children have access to the comforts of home — including food and needed personal care items.

Since the launch of Always’ #EndPeriodPoverty program in 2018, in partnership with Feeding America, we have donated over 65 million period products to those in need here in the U.S. The brand recently donated 1 million period products to Food Share Ventura County in California. These products were delivered directly to the area’s essential farmworkers and their families. Always also donates period products to schools, which helps break down education barriers by preventing girls from missing class when they lack access to these essential products.

For the millions of families in America who were facing hunger before the pandemic, COVID-19 has exacerbated their daily needs. P&G has stepped up during this time, with the help of brands like Always, Bounty, Crest, Olay, Pampers, Pantene, Safeguard and Secret to help Feeding America serve communities hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Marking the 40th Anniversary of our partnership with Feeding America, P&G will host an employee volunteer event at its local food bank, Freestore Foodbank in Cincinnati, on October 27. P&G works closely with Freestore Foodbank to advance its mission of improving lives by eliminating hunger in Cincinnati, helping to provide nutritious food, connect people in need with support services and offer a pathway from crisis to stability.

Last year P&G donated $5 million toward Freestore Foodbank’s Growing Beyond Hunger campaign, an expansion of donation and career training services. These funds went toward the food bank’s forthcoming Community Resource and Distribution Center and Farmer Family Foundation Workforce Training Center, both anticipated to open early next year.

“P&G is proud to be a partner of the Freestore Foodbank for over 30 years now,” said David Taylor, P&G’s former CEO and Chairman. “We have seen firsthand the positive impacts Freestore has had on our Greater Cincinnati community, especially during the pandemic, and we are excited to support the Growing Beyond Hunger campaign and help make our community stronger.”