The Enterprise Rent-A-Car Foundation has donated $20 million to food banks around the world as part of one of the largest donations aimed at fighting hunger, according to Enterprise.

Enterprise Rent-A-Car launched the “Fill Your Tank” program in October 2016 as a companywide initiative to celebrate Enterprise’s 60th anniversary, with the goal of providing $60 million to address food insecurity.

The Enterprise Rent-A-Car Foundation is distributing $10 million per year over a six-year period. The Fill Your Tank program is partnering with hunger-relief organizations such as Food Banks Canada, Feeding America and the Global FoodBanking Network.

“The Fill Your Tank initiative has made an impact on community food banks and pantries around the world, and we are thrilled to continue to work with our hunger relief partners in 2018,” said Enterprise Rent-A-Car Foundation Senior Vice President and Executive Director Carolyn Kindle Betz. “Our employees have long supported food banks and pantries in the cities and neighborhoods we serve. We’re continuously inspired by their good work.

“We launched the Fill Your Tank initiative at the end of 2016 to shed light on an important issue and strengthen the communities where our employees live and work. Food insecurity is a critical issue in thousands of towns and neighborhoods around the world, and often, it’s an issue that doesn’t get the attention it deserves.”

In the program’s first two years, the foundation has distributed:

• $3 million to Food Banks Canada to support operations and infrastructure in food banks across Canada
• $5 million to Feeding America, the largest U.S. domestic hunger-relief and food rescue charity. The funds helped to fight hunger among seniors and children.
• $2 million to The Global FoodBanking Network to expand the work of food banks around the world, especially food banks in the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Germany and Spain on behalf of company-owned operations in these countries.
• $10 million to local food banks and pantries in communities served by Enterprise.

Program Highlights

Funding by the Enterprise Rent-A-Car Foundation was used to create programs that address the unique challenges each community faces when it comes to food insecurity. In the United States, donations were made to food banks selected by local Enterprise operations as well as Feeding America.

Examples of how funds were used include:

• Development of a national study to learn how to improve the effectiveness of Food Banks Canada’s national food-sharing system
• Funds were used to increase food acquisition and sharing for 10 provincial associations in Canada, serving 550 local food banks.
• Creation of a network-wide Canadian volunteer program,
• Development of a six-year implementation plan to support Feeding America’s senior hunger strategy
• $100,000 was donated to a community food bank in Alabama to support mobile food pantries, serving 8,600 meals to 480 seniors every month.
• $100,000 was used to develop a senior nutrition program in Illinois, serving 192,000 meals to seniors.
• Development of an IT system to support food sharing and expand the World Food Program’s services to reach more people.
• €80,000 was used to open a new logistics center in Germany, serving 180,000 people since the location opened its doors.
• £500,000 was used to expand services and food distribution in the United Kingdom, reaching more than 480,000 people.

Although there is enough food produced to feed the population, one in nine people still go to bed on an empty stomach, according to the World Food Program. In Canada alone, more than 850,000 people turn to food banks every month for help; more than a third of that number are children and youth according to Foodbanks Canada.

“Food Banks Canada is grateful for the multi-year commitment by the Enterprise Holdings Foundation. Support is enabling a comprehensive review of our national food-sharing system and strategic investments into how the food bank network can better meet the challenges and changes that the food system in undergoing in Canada to serve Canadians living with food insecurity,” said Mimi Lowi-Young, executive director of Food Banks Canada.

For more information about the Enterprise Rent-A-Car Foundation’s Fill Your Tank program or other philanthropic initiatives, visit www.enterpriseholdings.com/en/corporate-social-responsibility/philanthropic-initiatives.