With tens of millions of dollars invested over
the last 40 years, John Deere is improving customers' livelihoods
while addressing hunger
MOLINE,
Ill., Nov. 18, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Deere &
Company (NYSE:DE) today announced a $6.6
million, three-year commitment of unrestricted funding from
the John Deere Foundation to Feeding America®. This
grant reaffirms John Deere's commitment to hunger relief and
supporting communities in need while honoring the work of
farmers.
Hunger is solvable
More than 47 million Americans,
including nearly 14 million children, face hunger each year.
At the same time, farmers grow enough food to feed everyone
in the country. Some farmers are even burdened with excess crops
that, if not left for waste (as 30% of food annually is), leads to
detrimental costs in labor, storage, and transportation.
"With John Deere's support, the Feeding America network can
extend our reach to help ensure more nutritious food gets to
communities where it is needed most," Claire Babineaux-Fontenot, CEO of Feeding
America, said. "Their grant will help address complex issues of
food access, improving networks that support people experiencing
food insecurity and strengthen communities and the farmers who
sustain them."
Supporting a record-breaking, innovative approach to solving
hunger
In addition to partnering with Feeding America, John
Deere supports The Farmlink Project, a nonprofit organization that
confronts one of the biggest challenges in our food system: getting
surplus food from farms directly to communities in need. This fall,
Farmlink completed a record-breaking food rescue event,
redirecting over 15 million pounds of surplus apples from U.S.
farms to food banks. Deere's support of Farmlink through a
three-year grant also extends through TikTok, where proceeds from
limited edition merchandise support Farmlink in the movement to end
hunger.
"Supporting important initiatives like these is part of John
Deere's broader efforts to not only strengthen – but ultimately
transform – our food system to effectively end hunger," said
John May, Chairman and CEO of Deere
& Company. "Our commitment to customers extends beyond
delivering solutions that help them do more with less; it's about
actively engaging in initiatives that enhance customers'
livelihoods while tackling hunger in our local communities."
John Deere has supported food banks since they first emerged in
the company's home communities during the farm crisis in the 1980s.
Today's announcement marks more than 40 years of support and tens
of millions of dollars in funding, which also includes working with
the Global Food Banking Network, creating opportunities for
smallholder farmers through the One Acre Fund and the Nature
Conservancy, and supporting the World Food Program USA.
To learn more about Deere's commitment to ensuring food on every
table, visit Empowering Communities.
About Deere & Company
Deere & Company
(www.JohnDeere.com) is a global leader in the delivery of
agricultural, turf, construction, and forestry equipment. We help
our customers push the boundaries of what's possible in ways that
are more productive and sustainable to help life leap forward. Our
technology-enabled products including John Deere Autonomous 8R
Tractor, See & Spray™, and E-Power Backhoe are just some of the
ways we help meet the world's increasing need for food, shelter,
and infrastructure. Deere & Company also provides financial
services through John Deere Financial.
For more information on Deere & Company, visit us at
www.deere.com/en/news/.
About Feeding America
Feeding America is committed to
an America where no one is hungry. We support tens of millions of
people who experience food insecurity to get the food and resources
they say they need to thrive as part of a nationwide network of
food banks, statewide food bank associations, food pantries and
meal programs. We also invest in innovative solutions to increase
equitable access to nutritious food, advocate for legislation that
improves food security and work to address factors that impact food
security, such as health, cost of living and employment.
We partner with people experiencing food insecurity,
policymakers, organizations, and supporters, united with them in a
movement to end hunger. Visit FeedingAmerica.org to learn more.
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SOURCE John Deere Company
