FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 10, 2022
UNITED FOOD BANK PARTNERS WITH GOOGLE.ORG THIS HOLIDAY SEASON TO HELP DELIVER MEALS TO NEIGHBORS IN NEED
Support from Google’s philanthropy and Feeding America will help deliver meals and fuel long term, impact focused technology projects
[PHOENIX] – Today, United Food Bank announced a partnership with Google.org, Google’s philanthropic arm, and Feeding America® to immediately deliver meals to Arizonans in need and build long term technology solutions to scale their impact and provide their community with greater access to resources.
This announcement is part of a larger initiative from Google.org and Feeding America to help provide 50 million meals* to communities across the United States.
“The United Food Bank is an invaluable partner to the City of Mesa year-round, working with us to reduce food insecurity in our community,” said Mesa Mayor John Giles. “This generous donation from Google.org will have an incredible impact during a tough season, helping to feed those who need it most.
Today, 34 million Americans, including 9 million children, are facing food insecurity. Among Feeding America network food banks, 90% report an increased or sustained need over the last month. United Food Bank has seen this need first hand as they serve 5 counties in Arizona, covering 19,608 square-miles. Annually distributing nearly 25 million pounds of food and helping to provide 57,000 meals per day to people in need.
“The rapid and sustained increase in food prices has caused pain for many families that are struggling and, as a result, food banks like United Food Bank are experiencing significant demand for services,” says Mike Suriano, United Food Bank Interim President and CEO. “We are very grateful to donors and supporters like Google.org who recognize the need for our services and support our efforts. Their generous contribution will help us assure we have the proper capacity and infrastructure to meet the needs of the community we serve.”
Google has seen the need reflected in Google Search Trends on a national and local level in Arizona. Nationally, Google sees a spike in searches for food support every November, but more than ever before, Americans are making searches around “food” and “prices” in 2022. They are also searching “how to give back” more than ever, with searches for “where to donate food near me” skyrocketing 850% over the past five years.
In Arizona, the top searched “apply for” in 2022 was “apply for food stamps”. As community members seek to help, the term “where to donate food near me” saw an increase of 1,350% and searches for “food bank donation” increased by more than 100% over the last five years.
To help meet that demand, Google.org has joined forces with Waymo to expand their food rescue program in Mesa, Arizona. On Nov. 15 as part of a volunteer event, Googlers will help load a Waymo Via semi truck full of food to deliver to local food banks. Since May, Waymo Via have helped transport more than 44,000 pounds of bread on behalf of nonprofits’ food rescue efforts.
“Addressing food insecurity requires a sustained and coordinated approach. We’re proud to partner with Feeding America to deliver over 50 million meals to people in need, and to work with them to strengthen their technology infrastructure,” said Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and Alphabet. “We’re also making our products, like Search and Maps, more helpful to people searching for resources or ways to give back.”
United Food Bank will also receive donated Search Ads to connect people looking for help with resources, provide avenues for others to give back and drive food security awareness nationwide.
About United Food Bank
United Food Bank has provided hunger relief to people in the East Valley and eastern Arizona since 1983. As a Feeding America member food bank, we collect, acquire, store, and distribute food to 150 partner agencies and programs throughout five counties. Each year United Food Bank distributes nearly 25 million pounds of food, helping to provide over 57,000 meals a day to our neighbors in need. Visit us at UnitedFoodBank.org to learn more about our mission and find ways you can help fight hunger in Arizona.
About Feeding America
Feeding America® is the largest hunger-relief organization in the United States. Through a network of more than 200 food banks, 21 statewide food bank associations, and over 60,000 partner agencies, food pantries and meal programs, we helped provide 6.6 billion meals to tens of millions of people in need last year. Feeding America also supports programs that prevent food waste and improve food security among the people we serve; brings attention to the social and systemic barriers that contribute to food insecurity in our nation; and advocates for legislation that protects people from going hungry. Visit feedingamerica.org, find us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.
About Google.org
Google.org, Google’s philanthropy, brings the best of Google to help solve some of humanity’s
biggest challenges combining funding, product donations and technical expertise to support underserved communities and provide opportunity for everyone. We engage nonprofits and social enterprises who make a significant impact on the communities they represent, and whose work has the potential to produce meaningful change. We want a better world, faster — and we believe in leveraging technology and applying scalable data-driven innovation to move the needle.
