The fight against the COVID-19 pandemic presses onward as we near the end of 2020. With more than 55.6 million cases worldwide, Freudenberg recognizes the challenges this virus has imposed and continues to aid in coronavirus relief efforts. As the pandemic has continued, food banks are struggling to maintain sufficient supply networks to provide food for people in need.
In the first half of 2020, Freudenberg Group began its worldwide initiative to support the areas in which our employees live and work by donating more than $687,000 USD to aid 80 organizations in 28 countries to provide hunger relief in communities. In the United States, 25 food banks each received $5,000 USD to lead hunger relief efforts for underserved and unemployed citizens impacted by the virus.
Our commitment hasn’t stopped there.
In November 2020, Freudenberg Group donated $50,000 to the Houston Food Bank to help provide essential healthy meals for children in need. With this significant donation comes the hope to relieve hunger pains both around the holidays, and during winter’s cold months.
The Houston Food Bank is one of the United States’ most active food banks. Last fiscal year, the Houston Food Bank provided more than 195 million nutritious meals of fresh produce, dairy products, fresh meats, and other refrigerated and frozen products to roughly 92,835 households per week and is on track to providing food and services to approximately 1.1 million food insecure individuals this year. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the organization served roughly 400,000 pounds of food per day. Since the pandemic began, the amount has doubled to more than 800,000 pounds per day.
100% of the Freudenberg donation will focus on funding the Houston Food Bank’s children’s programs, such as the Kids Café and Backpack Buddy programs that serve children in 18 southeast Texas counties. The Kids Cafe program provides children with free nutritious meals at times when other resources are not available, such as after school and in childcare programs. The Backpack Buddy program works to fill the weekend gap for chronically hungry children by providing nutritious, child-friendly food for children to take home over the weekend during the school year and during the summer months when they are not in school.
“Houston Food Bank is very grateful for the generosity of Freudenberg Group’s financial gift,” says Paula McKenzie, Director of Major Gifts for the Houston Food Bank. “Due to the increased distributions as a result of the COVID-19 crisis, the impact on our overall operations to provide our core function of food distribution has been challenging.”
About Houston Food Bank
Houston Food Bank’s mission is to provide food for better lives. Last year we provided access to 104 million nutritious meals in 18 counties in southeast Texas through our 1,500 community partners which includes food pantries, soup kitchens, social service providers and schools. We have a strong focus on healthy foods and fresh produce. In addition to distributing food, we provide services and connections to programs that address the root causes of hunger and are aimed at helping families achieve long-term stability, including nutrition education, job training, health management and help with securing state-funded assistance. We are a resource for individuals and families in times of hardship. We are a solution to food waste, working with grocery stores and growers to rescue food before it reaches landfills. In collaboration with our community, we advocate for policy change and promote dialogue on ways to increase access to food and to improve the lives of those we serve. Houston Food Bank works alongside our partner food banks in Montgomery County, Galveston Country, and Brazos Valley. Houston Food Bank is a certified member of Feeding America, the nation’s food bank network, with a four-star rating from Charity Navigator.
About Freudenberg Oil & Gas Technologies
Freudenberg Oil & Gas Technologies is a global solutions provider of critical sealing and connector solutions, niche products and services to the global energy market — including oil and gas, renewables and alternatives. Our strengths in material science, application knowledge, design capabilities and manufacturing capacity, combined with our differentiated product portfolio, are supported by a relentless focus on providing the highest level of service to our customers. Our associates serve a wide range of customers including oil and gas production companies, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and engineering and service companies. Freudenberg Oil & Gas Technologies has locations in Canada, Malaysia, Norway, Singapore, the UK, the United Arab Emirates, and the US.
About the Freudenberg Group
Freudenberg is a global technology group. Together with its partners, customers and research institutions, the Freudenberg Group develops leading-edge technologies, products and services for more than 40 markets and for thousands of applications: seals, connectors, vibration control components, performance materials / textiles, filters, specialty chemicals, medical products and household and commercial cleaning products. Strength of innovation, strong customer orientation, diversity, and long-term orientation are the cornerstones of the Group. A 170-year-old family-owned company, the Freudenberg Group employs approximately 48,000 people in some 60 countries worldwide and generated revenues of more than $10 billion. For more information, please visit www.freudenberg.com