On Wednesday, June 19, United Airlines employees reached a milestone of 1 million meals packed for charity partner Rise Against Hunger, a global non-profit, working to end hunger by providing food and life-changing aid to the world's most vulnerable and create a global commitment to mobilize critical resources. The millionth meal was packed during the airline's annual sales conference in Anaheim, Calif. this week. This achievement is part of United's commitment to global community engagement as well as lifting up communities in crisis after disaster.
“Packing 1 million meals is a monumental milestone and as a global airline we are thrilled to partner with Rise Against Hunger to make an impact in communities in need across the world,” said Jake Cefolia, United's senior vice president of worldwide sales. “Our annual sales conference brought together more than 800 United team members from 53 countries, providing us with an incredible opportunity for an impactful service project.”
During the packing event, United employees assembled 100,000 meals to reach the goal of 1 million meals packed by the airline in partnership with Rise Against Hunger. The meal packs included enriched rice, soy protein, dried vegetables and 23 essential vitamins and nutrients to provide a comprehensive array of micronutrients. The airline plans to continue engaging even more employees with Rise Against Hunger throughout the year, with plans to pack a minimum of ninety thousand more meals by the end of 2019.
“United Airlines and their employees have been an integral part of our movement to end world hunger,” said Kate Day, interim CEO & President, Rise Against Hunger. “Through financial commitment and bringing together over 4,000 global employees to package 1 million meals, United has helped nourish the lives of 10,000 people in critical need for a full year in communities across South and Central America, Africa and Asia.”
As the official airline partner of Rise Against Hunger, United employees have been packing meals for the organization since 2017. Employees from around the world have spent more than five thousand hours volunteering through meal packing and meal distribution events. Countries of impact have included Nicaragua, India, Zambia, Haiti, Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia, Honduras among others.
