Jeff Bezos donates $100 million to U.S. food banks

SEATTLE — Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos announced Thursday that he is donating $100 million to food banks across the country during the coronavirus pandemic.

“Even in ordinary times, food insecurity in American households is an important problem, and unfortunately COVID-19 is amplifying that stress significantly,” Bezos said in his Instagram post. “Non-profit food banks and food pantries rely in large part on surplus food from a range of food businesses. For example, many restaurants donate excess food. But during this time of social distancing, restaurants are closed, and many other normal channels of excess food have also shut down. To make matters worse, as supply is dwindling, demand for food bank services is going up.”

Bezos said the donation will go to Feeding America, a nonprofit that will distribute the funds to their national network of food banks and food pantries, which will help families who need it.

“We are deeply grateful for Jeff Bezos’ generous $100 million contribution to Feeding America’s COVID-19 Response Fund. This donation, the largest single gift in our history, will enable us to provide more food to millions of our neighbors facing hardship during this crisis. Countless lives will be changed because of his generosity," said Claire Babineaux-Fontenot, CEO of Feeding America.

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