Half of all students in the U.S. public school system receive free or reduced-price lunches to get the nutrition they need. But with COVID-19 shutting down schools — and in some cases even stand-in nutrition programs — many of those students and families are now left without regular access to affordable food.
The crisis is disproportionately affecting elderly Americans as well — 8 percent of households with an elderly member are food insecure, according to the Brookings Institution. When those individuals lose access to food banks and senior centers, they’re more likely to go hungry.
In the midst of those threats, organizations like Feeding America and Meals on Wheels America are working to bring healthy food to vulnerable populations. And donors like Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association are helping them do it.
MLB and the MLBPA announced March 16 they’re giving $500,000 to each of the two charities, for a combined $1 million.
“Once we realized that there were school closures, that really was the jumpstart,” said MLB VP of social responsibility Melanie LeGrande. “And knowing that vulnerable populations like seniors were being asked to stay at home, those were the populations that we knew we had to support immediately. And the biggest need and priority was food.”
What we’ve seen is that they’ve been able to deploy funding immediately to the hardest-hit areas.”
Feeding America, which claims to be the largest hunger-focused charity network in the country, will use the funds to stock the 200 food banks and 60,000 food pantries and programs it supports. These programs and locations will help families affected by school shutdowns and the suspension of free and reduced-price lunch programs.
Within a week of the donation, the money was reaching member organizations in affected communities, LeGrande said, citing communication from Feeding America.
“I think in some cases when Feeding America gets dollars, they may require their affiliated members to fill out an application to get the funding, but they understand the emergency, the quick thinking and the quick acting that has to happen right now,” she said. “So what we’ve seen is that they’ve been able to deploy funding immediately to the hardest-hit areas.”
Feeding America also launched a $2.65 million COVID-19 Response Fund on March 13 to help food pantries handle increased need from the 37 million Americans who are food insecure.
Likewise, Meals on Wheels America set up a COVID-19 Response Fund that so far has granted $1.4 million to help 108 local Meals on Wheels organizations respond to spiking demand. One local program saw 500 additional seniors sign up for food assistance in a single week, according to the Meals on Wheels website.
The day after MLB announced its hunger relief donations, it followed up with news that all 30 teams in the league would give $1 million each to ballpark workers affected by the postponed baseball season.
Next week, the league will announce an official player mobilization effort, LeGrande said, the details of which she can’t yet share.
I would ask people to stay positive and make sure they’re focusing not just on social distancing, but understanding that social distancing doesn’t mean emotional distancing.”
Meanwhile, some MLB players are making donations of their own, CBS reported. Houston Astros player Alex Bregman provided Houston Food Bank the money for 1,000 quarantine food kits, which each make 28 meals.
The Astros’ George Springer donated $100,000 to Minute Maid Park employees affected by the MLB’s postponed season, while Cincinnati Reds player Trevor Bauer started a GoFundMe for Great American Ballpark staff, to which he donated $10,000.
Major- and minor-league players will still be paid during the shutdown, albeit at a reduced rate, the Associated Press reported.
It’s still unknown when MLB will begin its regular season, due to uncertainty surrounding the pandemic’s progression. In the meantime, LeGrande had a message for baseball fans.
“I want them to know that [MLB is] committed to playing as many games as possible. We are excited for the day we can all be back in the ballparks enjoying the game together,” she said. “I would ask people to stay positive and make sure they’re focusing not just on social distancing, but understanding that social distancing doesn’t mean emotional distancing. Because right now, staying connected as best we can to friends and family and loved ones is going to be key to keeping us together and getting us through this tough time.”
