Foundation commits US$60m to hunger relief

The Enterprise Rent-A-Car Foundation has celebrated the company’s 60th anniversary by announcing a US$60 million donation aimed at fighting hunger.

Over the next six years, the Fill Your Tank program will distribute US$10 million per year as follows:

• US$2.5 million to Feeding America, the largest US domestic hunger-relief and food rescue charity.
• US$1.5 million to Food Banks Canada to support operations and infrastructure in food banks across Canada.
• US$1 million to The Global FoodBanking Network to expand the work of food banks around the world, especially food banks in the UK, Ireland, France, Germany and Spain on behalf of company-owned operations in these countries.
• US$5 million to local food banks and pantries in communities served by Enterprise.

Beyond donations, the brand is supporting the initiative with a hunger awareness campaign featuring stories of what is possible when people are running on a ‘full tank’ — that is, when they have enough to eat.

Globally, one in nine people don’t get enough food to be healthy and lead an active life, according to the World Food Programme. In the United States, seniors are the fastest growing food-insecure population, with one in 11 seniors at risk of hunger, often finding themselves choosing between food and other basic needs. But children are at even greater risk. According to the US Department of Agriculture, one in six American children is food insecure. Today, more than a third of households served by Feeding America include at least one child.

The founder of Enterprise, Jack Taylor, established the company in 1957 with a fleet of seven cars. Today, Enterprise operates in more than 85 countries and territories and is the largest car rental company in the world. Taylor started the Foundation in 1982.