http://www.fortune.com/adsectionsADDRESSING
AMERICA’S
HUNGER CRISIS
SPONSORED CONTENT
Enterprise Rent-A-Car’s Fill Your Tank program
is helping feed millions of vulnerable children
and seniors across the nation.
FROM CALIFORNIA’S VERDANT GROVES TO THE
breadbasket of the Midwest and the soil-rich fields of the
Mid-Atlantic and South, America’s farmland feeds the
world, or at least a good portion of it.
Yet, in communities across the nation, millions of
Americans go hungry every year. And food insecurity is
particularly acute among some of the country’s most vul-
nerable citizens: seniors. According to Feeding America,
the nation’s largest domestic hunger-relief organization,
5.5 million seniors suffered from food insecurity in 2017,
the last year for which there is data. That number is
expected to grow as the baby-boomer generation ages.
“When seniors experience food insecurity, they’re
uniquely vulnerable to the health impact of hunger,”says Jessica Jelinski, vice president of equitable access
at Feeding America. “Seniors are more susceptible to
experiencing depression and heart problems, compared
to members of other generations.”
Enter car rental provider Enterprise, founded in St.
Louis in 1957 by Jack Taylor, who made strengthening
communities a cornerstone of his philanthropy. “Today,
with neighborhood and airport locations within 15 miles
of 90% of the U.S. population, Enterprise employees
have witnessed firsthand the effects of the national
hunger crisis, and they have responded by donating in-
valuable time and skills to food banks and pantries in the
communities in which they live and work,” says Carolyn
Kindle Betz, president of Enterprise Holdings Foundation.
Inspired by its employees’ passion, and in celebration
of the company’s 60th anniversary, in 2016 the Enter-
prise Rent-A-Car Foundation launched Fill Your Tank, a
program to help eradicate hunger both domestically and
around the world. As part of the initiative, the company
has committed to donate $60 million over six years, an
annual $2.5 million of which
supports Feeding America’s
efforts to fight food insecurity
among seniors and children.
In addition to these
national efforts, Enterprise
is donating $1.5 million a
year to Food Banks Canada
and another $1 million to the
Global FoodBanking Network,
to address hunger in Europe
on behalf of Enterprise-
owned operations in the U.K., France, Ireland, Germany,
and Spain. The remaining $5 million a year goes to
local food banks and pantries in communities served by
Enterprise.
Enterprise’s donation is the largest gift targeting
senior hunger in Feeding America’s 40-year history.
As a result, meals served through programs designed
specifically for seniors have increased by 21% since the
partnership began, and seniors in need are receiving
more fresh and healthy choices than ever.
“This gift has been transformational,” says Jelinski.
“It has allowed us to feed more seniors and allowed
more of our food banks to begin programming to reach
seniors, a hard age group to serve because of mobility
and transportation, among other factors. Without the
support of Enterprise, we wouldn’t have been able to
reach the growth we have in feeding seniors over the
past several years.” ●Enterprise’s Fill
Your Tank program
is committing to
donate $2.5 million
annually over six years
to support Feeding
America's efforts to
fight food insecurity
among seniors
and children.