Ford, Health in the Hood, World Central Kitchen Mobilize to Deliver 5K Meals to Miami Families

May 7, 2021 by Ford

•Ford and its philanthropic arm Ford Fund, in collaboration with Health in the Hood and World Central Kitchen launch an eight-week program to deliver 5,000 fresh meals to families in the Miami-Dade County to provide additional access to healthy foods

•To kick-off the program, Ford is contributing $25,000 to the nonprofit Health in the Hood and Ford and Spin employees in Miami-Dade will volunteer in a day of service at the nonprofit

•This collaboration offers a unique opportunity for Ford and Ford Fund to continue strengthening communities, like Miami-Dade, and provide additional access to healthy foods

As part of Ford's commitment to strengthen local communities, the company is joining forces with Health in the Hood and World Central Kitchen to deliver 5,000 fresh, healthy, pre-prepared meals to families in Miami-Dade County. The mobilized delivery service will run for eight weeks and complement Health in the Hood's existing distribution program, with Ford delivering meals via Ford Transit Connect vans to over 60 families weekly who are living in food deserts.

'Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, we have seen an increase in food insecurity in Miami due to job loss,' said Asha Walker, Founder and CEO, Health in the Hood. 'By teaming up with corporate community partners like Ford, we are able to mobilize our food pantry and provide additional access to families who might have otherwise not have been able to receive the meals.'

Administered by Ford Fund – the automaker's philanthropic arm – Ford is contributing $25,000 to kick off the effort led by Health in the Hood, a nonprofit whose mission is to fight food insecurity. World Central Kitchen, a nonprofit organization that uses the power of food to nourish communities and strengthen economies in times of crisis and beyond, is providing the pre-prepared, fresh meals in addition to their ongoing Miami efforts. Ford's mobility team is also providing support via its Transportation-as-a-Service (TaaS) software platform to help manage the delivery vehicles and notify recipients when their food is on the way.

The Ford Volunteer Corps will set the stage for meal delivery with a day of service at Health in the Hood. As part of the day of service, local employees across Ford's mobility business and Ford's micromobility unit Spin, will help harvest and plant vegetables at its urban gardens. Spin is operating a fleet of dockless scooters in the City of Miami and City of Coral Gables and Ford, in partnership with Argo AI, is currently building an autonomous vehicle service in Miami Dade.

'This program builds on Ford and Ford Fund's long-term commitment to the Miami community,' said Joe Avila, manager, U.S. & Latin America, Ford Motor Company Fund. 'Using our collective resources and expertise, we are able to provide a much-needed service for local families, who now have access to quality meals provided by Health in the Hood and World Central Kitchen.'

Ford Fund and local Ford dealers have invested more than $8 million in Miami-Dade County and the Miami area to boost education, provide disaster relief and advance social entrepreneurship. More recently, 1 million masks were donated to local nonprofits, first responders and the public as part of Ford and Ford Fund's effort to donate 120 million masks to communities across the U.S.