Bank of America is making a $25,000 contribution that will provide enough food for 125,000 meals to the Arkansas Foodbank, as part of its COVID-19 vaccine initiative. In January, Bank of America announced it would donate $100 for every employee who registered their COVID-19 boosters to local hunger relief organizations and food banks. The bank has given $158,000 to the local hunger relief organization over the past two years.
“COVID-19 is continuing to strain Arkansans’ physical and financial well-being, including their ability to put food on the table,” said Heather Albright, president of Bank of America Arkansas. “Whether we’re providing paid time-off for vaccination appointments or supporting local food banks, we are committed to helping our state respond to and recover from this pandemic.”
Nationally, Bank of America’s booster program resulted in a donation of $10.6 million to food banks and hunger relief organizations.
Studies show that in Arkansas, one in five people are considered food insecure and 25 percent of children are facing hunger.
BoA is the sponsor of Hunger Heroes, the Arkansas Foodbank’s campaign focused on school pantries, backpack meals, and out-of-school feeding programs. Last year, the program provided 106,215 meals for youth in central and south Arkansas.
Arkansas Foodbank is the largest hunger relief organization in Arkansas, and is a member of Feeding America and the Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance. The Foodbank offers programming focused on serving hungry Arkansans with more healthy and nutritious food. Programs like Food For Kids, Food For Families, and Food For Seniors provide food and other resources for more than 400 food pantries, soup kitchens, schools, colleges, shelters, senior centers and other agencies that provide aid directly to hungry Arkansans.
“Arkansas is confronting dire food security challenges, particularly during COVID-19,” said Rhonda Sanders, CEO of Arkansas Foodbank. “With continued assistance from local partners like Bank of America, we are able to deliver much-needed support to our neighbors in need.”
Bank of America committed to donating a minimum of $25,000 in each of the company’s 93 markets to local nonprofit partners as part its vaccine booster effort. Because vaccination boosters and reporting are voluntary and additional company contributions are reflected in the final amount, actual donation amounts differ from the number of boosters reported by bank employees.
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