Los Angeles-based Caulipower will be making a $1 million donation over three years to the American Heart Association’s food security and education programs, including its National Teaching Gardens Network.
The social and economic impact of COVID-19 has heightened the problem of food insecurity in under-resourced communities. Even before the crisis, in Los Angeles County alone 30 percent of low-income households did not know where their next meal was coming from.
In the short-term, donated funds will immediately provide more than 100,000 meals to 4,500 high-risk families in Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia and Birmingham for the next two months.
“Central to Caulipower’s mission is making healthier foods accessible to all,” said Gail Becker, founder and CEO of Caulipower.
Following the short-term, Caulipower’s donation will help fund the American Heart Association’s 300,000-strong National Teaching Gardens Network and the creation of 100 new Teaching Gardens. The program and the gardens give schools and other community-based organizations educational resources to teach children about the benefits of healthy home-grown fruit and vegetables.
In Los Angeles, the joint program will provide fresh produce boxes with enough food for a whole family through a partnership with Food Forward, SEE-LA and other local organizations such as Manual Arts High School, Keck Medicine of USC, Adventist Health White Memorial and the Weingart YMCA. The farm-fresh produce is sourced from local farmers, who’ve also been hit hard by the crisis.
“We are grateful for Caulipower’s commitment to help bring vital resources to communities that need it most,” said cardiologist John Gordon Harold, MD, board president of the American Heart Association Los Angeles Division. “This important collaboration will not only provide urgent relief to families facing hardship during these challenging times but also in the long-term, inspire kids and their families to grow their own food and eat healthier through Teaching Gardens.”
Since its inception, Caulipower has contributed a percentage of sales to the Teaching Gardens, and the company is proud to continue their support as the national sponsor with this new $1 million donation.
“It’s already a tragedy that thousands of families depend on free school meals, but with schools closed that tragedy is a crisis and more children are at risk,” Becker said. “We’re thrilled that Caulipower can help put fresh vegetables on the tables of 4,500 families just when they need it most. Help us help more families by donating: Text CAULI to 41444.”
