Fifth Third recently announced that it provided over 1 million meals in May to fight hunger during its annual “Feeding Our Communities” initiative. The month-long effort included employee and customer donations, canned goods drives and employee volunteer activities. This achievement represents the first time the Bank has topped the million-meal mark. Over the course of 31 days, Fifth Third surpassed our goal by collecting 1,076,541 meals. The food and cash donations will undoubtedly make a positive impact throughout Fifth Third’s 10-state footprint.
In Florida, customers and employees contributed 58,669 meals through donations and volunteer events. Fifth Third Bank employees volunteered at food bank partner organizations throughout the state for a total of 438 service hours.
Locally in Central Florida, the donations directly support the Summer of Dreams program at After-School All-Stars and Second Harvest Food Bank. Fifth Third Bank employees recently volunteered at Second Harvest to help with food sorting and packing, as well as donated food being loaded up for food packs for Summer of Dreams homeless children.
“Hunger affects so many families in Florida,” said David Call, Florida regional president for Fifth Third Bank. “Helping the hungry, homeless and food insecure is critically important to Fifth Third Bank. We care about the people in our communities and want to assist our neighbors in need. How the company and all of our employees have united across the bank during the past month for this cause makes me extremely proud. Our Florida employees exceeded our goals, and to them I am incredibly grateful.”
According to No Kid Hungry, 48.8 million Americans – including 13 million children – live in households that lack the means to get enough nutritious food on a regular basis. As a result, they struggle with hunger at some time during the year. Food insecure families, defined as those who have limited or uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate and safe food, exist in 17.2 million households in America, 3.9 million of them with children.
“Fifth Third’s Feeding Our Communities initiative allowed our employees, customers and partners to join together in a shared commitment to improve lives,” said Brian Lamb, executive vice president and chief corporate social responsibility and reputation officer. “The Bank realizes that hunger is a far-reaching problem that affects people throughout society, especially children. By addressing the most basic needs of our neighbors, we are demonstrating our dedication to continue Fifth Third’s legacy o caring for the community.”
