Feeding San Diego raises over ten million meals through holiday campaign

FEEDING SAN DIEGO RAISES OVER TEN MILLION MEALS THROUGH HOLIDAY CAMPAIGN

Record breaking fundraising efforts from Give Hope, Share Joy Campaign more than doubled last year’s number of meals raised

SAN DIEGO (January 13, 2021) — Feeding San Diego, San Diego County’s leading hunger relief and food rescue organization, has almost doubled the number of meals raised through its annual holiday fundraising efforts this year, bringing in a total of over 10.1 million meals. The Give Hope, Share Joy campaign, that began on November 23, ended after an incredible outpouring of support from the community, who got involved in a variety of ways to ensure the success of the campaign.

“As the pandemic continues and we move toward a full year of living through this public health crisis, it’s the support of our community that’s allowing us to continue to serve those facing hunger,” says Dan Shea, Feeding San Diego Chief Executive Officer. “We are still seeing a more than 50 percent increase in need for food assistance, and this holiday campaign sets us up for success in 2021.”

Through efforts large and small during November and December, funds were raised to help assist those facing hunger. From percentage of sales events with partners like Barons Market, Jersey Mike’s, Ralphs & Food 4 Less, and Subaru to the Month of a Million Meals campaign that encouraged virtual giving, Give Hope, Share Joy brought San Diegans together to help combat hunger.

The campaign’s corporate sponsors–Barons Market, First Republic Bank, and ESET–contributed greatly to the success of the fundraising efforts along with over 12,500 individuals, 152 corporations, 39 foundations, and 35 organizations. As the stay-at-home order continues across San Diego County the community has stepped up and come together to help those that need it most right now. Feeding San Diego continues to operate ongoing food distributions along with emergency regional distributions across the county. Visit feedingsandiego.org/get-help/ to learn more. A special video was created by

Feeding San Diego to thank all of its supporters here: http://bit.ly/FSDthankyou2020.

ABOUT FEEDING SAN DIEGO

Feeding San Diego is a non-profit organization on a mission to connect every person facing hunger with nutritious meals by maximizing food rescue. Established in 2007, Feeding San Diego is the leading hunger-relief and food rescue organization in San Diego County and the only Feeding America affiliate in the region. Feeding San Diego provides more than 31.2 million meals every year to children, families, seniors, college students, military families, and veterans in partnership with a network of 320 local charities, schools, faith communities, meal sites, and food pantries. Last year, more than 92 percent of the food provided to the community was rescued. By diverting more than 27 million pounds of food from the landfill, Feeding San Diego reduced greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 25,000 metric tons of CO2 equivalent, which is comparable to taking 5,300 cars off the road for one year. To learn more about Feeding San Diego and its COVID-19 response, visit feedingsandiego.org.