Citizens Renews Partnership with Feeding America® to Fight Hunger

For the fifth consecutive year, Citizens has joined forces with Feeding America®, the nation’s largest domestic hunger-relief organization, contributing more than $1 million as a Leadership-level partner to further broaden and deepen its efforts to help fight hunger.

The renewed relationship builds on a successful four-year partnership which has brought funding into local markets and seeded Feeding America’s Ending Hunger program. This year’s funding is primarily categorized as equitable access grants, which aim to increase access to nutritious food among households with individuals who are Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) residing in communities experiencing high food insecurity rates.

“For millions of people in America, a daily meal isn’t a choice between different dishes. It’s often an impossible choice between food and other critical needs,” said Bruce Van Saun, Chairman and CEO, Citizens Financial Group. “Our partnership with Feeding America helps to tackle the root causes of hunger and aims to increase the scale and impact of local food banks, particularly now, as our communities continue grappling with economic instability.”

In 2021, through the Citizens Helping Citizens Fight Hunger initiative, the bank helped provide 16.3 million meals* via its partnership with Feeding America and other local hunger relief organizations. Citizens colleagues volunteered nearly 90,000 hours to help combat hunger in communities across the bank’s enterprise.

As part of Hunger Action Month, Citizens colleagues will display their commitment to fighting hunger by participating in Citizens’ Step Up to Fight Hunger challenge in which colleagues’ healthy activities and steps are translated into meals to support local communities.

Additionally, throughout the month of September, Citizens will host a virtual food drive supporting Feeding America. Each dollar donated will provide 10 meals in communities served by the bank and Citizens will match each dollar donated up to $20,000.

“As we embark upon this year’s Hunger Action Month, it’s incredible to see what becomes possible when we join together to take action,” said Claire Babineaux-Fontenot, CEO of Feeding America. “We are grateful to have dedicated partners like Citizens by our side. It’s efforts like these that are helping to make substantial impacts in our communities that will last far beyond the month of September.”

Citizens Helping Citizens Fight Hunger is part of the bank’s broader Citizens Helping Citizens program, which addresses three key areas: hunger, financial empowerment, and strengthening the communities it serves. It is rooted in the belief that when people and communities reach their potential, we all thrive. Get more information about Citizens community initiatives here.

Source: Citizens Bank