Morgan Stanley today announced the expansion of its longstanding partnership with Feeding America through a new $8 million commitment to its Fill the Plate program and an expanded employee volunteer initiative with the organization. Feeding America is the nation’s largest domestic hunger-relief charity and partners with Morgan Stanley on a range of programs including:
- Individualized awards to local food banks over the next four years, including grants given this spring to 27 food banks, tailored to best serve the child and family nutritional health needs in each community;
- Financial support of cutting-edge research to evaluate and improve the effectiveness of child hunger-relief programs;
- Continuing assistance for the National Produce program that helps bring fresh produce to families in need across the United States through a network of 61,000 Feeding America partner agencies such as soup kitchens, food pantries and shelters; and
- Continuing assistance for the BackPack program that provides free backpacks with food staples so children who usually receive reduced or free lunch at school can get the nutritious meals they need over weekends or long school breaks.
In this latest phase of Morgan Stanley’s Fill the Plate initiative, awards to local food banks will total more than $1 million each year for the next four years. The innovative design for this grant-giving allows individual food banks to select hunger-relief programs that most effectively match their local population and capabilities. The awards provide groundbreaking flexibility to Feeding America and its hunger-relief network of over 200 food banks nationwide.
“With more than 16 million children in the United States in danger of going hungry, we know that we can’t solve this issue alone,” said Bob Aiken, President and CEO of Feeding America. “This historic gift by Morgan Stanley shows the true commitment they have to help us fight hunger in all of our communities. We are proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with them in looking for ways to solve this problem.”
For 50 years, the Morgan Stanley Foundation has supported employee communities and innovations in pediatric health through initiatives such as its Global Alliance for Children’s Health. Through Fill the Plate, Morgan Stanley is dedicated to addressing food insecurity. Currently, one in five children in the U.S. does not have enough to eat, according to Feeding America’s 2010 Hunger Study.