Novi, Michigan-headquartered Lineage Logistics has committed to donating $5 million and the launch of its “Share A Meal” campaign to help provide 100 million meals to people in need in response to hardship caused by the deadly novel coronavirus pandemic.
“The Covid-19 virus presents extraordinary challenges for moving, storing, and distributing food on a large scale,” said Greg Lehmkuhl, Lineage’s president and chief executive officer. “We’ve built a business dedicated to shepherding food all over the world, which puts us in a unique position to help overcome these challenges. We want to do our part by sharing what we have to offer – including temperature-controlled warehouse space, supply chain logistics expertise and financial resources.”
In kicking off the campaign, the company is contributing $1 million to the Feeding America Covid-19 Response Fund and will donate up to $500,000 more to match contributions made to the fundraiser run by Stephen and Ayesha Curry’s Eat. Learn. Play. Foundation, in which all funds are directed to Feeding America, the USA’s largest domestic hunger relief organization.
Also throwing in the support the cause is Kyrie Irving of the Brooklyn Nets basketball team. He is personally contributing $323,000, and is asking family, friends, fans and partners to join him in donating in support of Feeding America’s Covid-19 Response Fund. Lineage Logistics will match all donations up to $200,000 to City Harvest, New York City’s private response to hunger and largest food rescue organization, and in addition, Kyrie and Lineage are donating over 250,000 meals to City Harvest to immediately help those affected by the coronavirus.
“Seeing the effects of Covid-19 reach our families, our schools, our jobs, and access to food has really impacted me,” said Irving. “I am excited to partner with Feeding America and Lineage Logistics to launch the Share A Meal campaign to help marginalized communities get the food resources they require during this time, and to work with City Harvest to distribute meals to my neighbors in need across the New York area. Thank you to everyone on the front line working to keep all of us safe, healthy, and fed. Together we can change the world one small gesture at a time.”
Helping Hand Extended to Folks in Oakland
“We’re working in a myriad of ways to ensure that every person in need, particularly the residents of Oakland, California, has access to the food they need during this Covid-19 crisis,” said Chris Helfrich, chief executive officer of the Eat. Learn. Play. Foundation. “We’re proud to be doing this work alongside Lineage Logistics – they’ve quickly established themselves as an invaluable partner in these critical times.”
“We are very proud to join forces and launch our Share A Meal campaign with Stephen and Ayesha Curry’s Eat. Learn. Play. Foundation to work with Feeding America and provide much-needed meals from coast to coast,” said Kevin Marchetti, co-executive chairman of Lineage Logistics. “We hope to connect with inspirational change-makers like the Currys in communities across the United States and around the world in pursuit of our goal of helping to provide 100 million meals to people in need.”
In addition to these initial commitments, Lineage is looking to work closely with a number of other strategic partners to make financial and logistical contributions in communities worldwide and reach Share A Meal’s ambitious goal.
The company will engage its expansive network of customers, which includes some of the world’s largest frozen food producers and manufacturers, to join in its commitment. Lineage will also challenge its investors, vendors and other like-minded persons and businesses to donate to the cause. Additionally, recognizing that the coronavirus pandemic is a worldwide crisis, it has engaged with the Global FoodBanking Network to provide funds, donate food and volunteer the storage resources and distribution expertise on a global scale.
“We have the opportunity to rise to the occasion in a critical time of need and actively live out Lineage’s purpose statement of helping to feed the world,” Lehmkuhl said. “It’s a time to ask ourselves what we stand for, and how far we are willing to go in service of others. We are 14,000-strong in communities near and far. As citizens of the world, we are in this together, and we know Lineage can – and must – do more.”
