Deere & Company announced a $6.6 million, three-year commitment of unrestricted funding from the John Deere Foundation to Feeding America. This grant reaffirms John Deere's commitment to hunger relief and supporting communities in need while honoring the work of farmers, according to a Nov. 18 announcement by the company.
More than 47 million Americans, including nearly 14 million children, face hunger each year. At the same time, farmers grow enough food to feed everyone in the country. Some farmers are even burdened with excess crops that, if not left for waste (as 30% of food annually is), leads to detrimental costs in labor, storage, and transportation.
"With John Deere's support, the Feeding America network can extend our reach to help ensure more nutritious food gets to communities where it is needed most," Claire Babineaux-Fontenot, CEO of Feeding America, said. "Their grant will help address complex issues of food access, improving networks that support people experiencing food insecurity and strengthen communities and the farmers who sustain them."
In addition to partnering with Feeding America, John Deere supports The Farmlink Project, a nonprofit organization that confronts one of the biggest challenges in our food system: getting surplus food from farms directly to communities in need. This fall, Farmlink completed a record-breaking food rescue event, redirecting over 15 million pounds of surplus apples from U.S. farms to food banks. Deere's support of Farmlink through a three-year grant also extends through TikTok, where proceeds from limited edition merchandise support Farmlink in the movement to end hunger.
"Supporting important initiatives like these is part of John Deere's broader efforts to not only strengthen – but ultimately transform – our food system to effectively end hunger," said John May, Chairman and CEO of Deere & Company. "Our commitment to customers extends beyond delivering solutions that help them do more with less; it's about actively engaging in initiatives that enhance customers' livelihoods while tackling hunger in our local communities."
John Deere has supported food banks since they first emerged in the company's home communities during the farm crisis in the 1980s. Today's announcement marks more than 40 years of support and tens of millions of dollars in funding, which also includes working with the Global Food Banking Network, creating opportunities for smallholder farmers through the One Acre Fund and the Nature Conservancy, and supporting the World Food Program USA.
Feeding America supports tens of millions of people who experience food insecurity to get the food and resources they need to thrive as part of a nationwide network of food banks, statewide food bank associations, food pantries and meal programs. The organization also invests in innovative solutions to increase equitable access to nutritious food, advocate for legislation that improves food security and work to address factors that impact food security, such as health, cost of living and employment.
