American actor Chris Pratt conceptualized Feed Thy Neighbor, an effort that awarded nearly $650,000 to food banks such as Edmonds Food Bank in Edmonds. | Adobe Stock
American actor Chris Pratt conceptualized Feed Thy Neighbor, an effort that awarded nearly $650,000 to food banks such as Edmonds Food Bank in Edmonds. | Adobe Stock
The Edmonds Food Bank was among entities benefitting from donations collected through Feed Thy Neighbor, American actor Chris Pratt’s idea to address hunger in the U.S. during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Hunger Site by GreaterGood, a suite of charitable sites, along with 12 12 Tomatoes and national nonprofit Greater Good Charities worked with Pratt in the Feed Thy Neighbor campaign in which awards of nearly $650,000 were made, a GreatGood.org release said.
“Pratt donated $100,000 in matching funds and encouraged people to donate for a chance to meet him via Zoom as well as hosted a star-studded New Year’s Eve Instagram Live that included Robert Downey Jr., Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jamie Foxx and Bryce Dallas Howard,” the release said.
The Edmonds Food Bank received $10,000 through Feeding America, to which half of the donations ($324,244) from Feed Thy Neighbor went, the Feed Thy Neighbor website said. The other half went for cash grants to hunger relief organizations.
A charitable food assistance network that works “with 200 food banks and 60,000 food partners” in the U.S., Feeding America has received reports from food banks that it is experiencing an increase of more than 55% more people visiting them than before the coronavirus pandemic, the Feeding America website said.
“One in four kids in America this year may not know where their next meal is coming from,” Pratt said in the release. “The need is real. People are in pain.”
Through Feed Thy Neighbor, other grant recipients include Central California Food Bank, serving Fresno, California, $20,000; Tri-City Free Breakfast Program, serving Fremont; $10,000 and Utah Food Bank, serving Salt Lake City, $25,000, the Feed Thy Neighbor website said.
“Feed Thy Neighbor was created as a result of the dual crisis affecting those trying to battle food insecurity that was caused by the coronavirus pandemic,” Liz Baker, CEO of Greater Good Charities, said in the release. “First, there is a meal shortage for food banks serving our most vulnerable; meanwhile, these same frontline groups are experiencing a decline in donations.”
Alerts Sign-up