Jeff Bezos donates $100 mn to fight food insecurity in America amidst Covid-19 outbreak

The world's rich have been continuously coming forward to pledge their support to help fight the Covid-19 pandemic, and the latest name to join the cause is Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos.

The world's richest man announced a '$100 million gift to Feeding America' to help feed a growing number of out-of-job Americans.

The 56-year-old billionaire took to Instagram to share the news, saying, "Feeding America will quickly distribute the funds to their national network of food banks and food pantries, getting food to those countless families who need it."

Food insecurity affects many American households , and the pandemic has only intensified that stress.

As non-profit food banks and food pantries struggle with a dwindling supply, Bezos has stepped in to help solve the problem.

Elaborating on the problem in his post, Bezos wrote, "Non-profit food banks and food pantries rely in large part on surplus food from a range of food businesses. For example, many restaurants donate excess food. But during this time of social distancing, restaurants are closed, and many other normal channels of excess food have also shut down. To make matters worse, as supply is dwindling, demand for food bank services is going up."

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Even in ordinary times, food insecurity in American households is an important problem, and unfortunately COVID-19 is amplifying that stress significantly. Non-profit food banks and food pantries rely in large part on surplus food from a range of food businesses. For example, many restaurants donate excess food. But during this time of social distancing, restaurants are closed, and many other normal channels of excess food have also shut down. To make matters worse, as supply is dwindling, demand for food bank services is going up.⁣ ⁣ Today, I want to support those on the front lines at our nation’s food banks and those who are relying on them for food with a $100 million gift to @FeedingAmerica. Feeding America will quickly distribute the funds to their national network of food banks and food pantries, getting food to those countless families who need it.⁣ ⁣ Feeding America is the largest non-profit focused on food security. Millions of Americans are turning to food banks during this time. If you want to help, the link to Feeding America is in my bio. They’d be excited and grateful for donations of any size.

A post shared by Jeff Bezos (@jeffbezos) on Apr 2, 2020 at 11:00am PDT

Millions of Americans are turning to food banks during these difficult times as jobs and incomes have been hit.

However, Bezos also faced some criticism for the contribution with many pointing out that the amount only composes about .08 per cent of Bezos' nearly $120 billion wealth.



Despite the criticism, Feeding America said it is "deeply grateful" for Bezos' "generous" gift.



"This donation, the largest single gift in our history, will enable us to provide more food to millions of our neighbors facing hardship during this crisis. Countless lives will be changed because of his generosity," Claire Babineaux-Fontenot, CEO of Feeding America, told WTHR.

(With inputs from IANS)