Leonardo DiCaprio, Laurene Powell Jobs and Oprah Winfrey on Thursday donated millions of dollars to help launch America’s Food Fund, to help the most at-risk people during the COVID-19 crisis.
DiCaprio and Powell Jobs donated a joint $5 million and Apple gave another $5 million to a GoFundMe web page; Winfrey donated another $1 million; and the Ford Foundation also put in $1 million. America’s Food Fund will work jointly with the existing food relief charities World Central Kitchen and Feeding America.
“In the face of this crisis, organizations like World Central Kitchen and Feeding America have inspired us all with their unwavering commitment to feed the most vulnerable people in need. I thank them for their tireless work on the front lines. They deserve all of our support,” DiCaprio said in a statement.
DiCaprio and his environmental charity earlier teamed with Powell Jobs, founder and president of Emerson Collective, and Brian Sheth to launch Earth Alliance as a new non-profit to battle climate change.
America’s Food Fund on its fundraising page said it aims to ensure everyone has a reliable access to food during the pandemic. “In neighborhoods and communities around the country, hunger is an issue that people, including families and children, face every day. Our most vulnerable populations — children who are out of school and rely on school lunch programs, low-income families, the elderly and individuals facing job disruptions — face great barriers to receiving safe and consistent access to meals,” the GoFundMe page states.
With financial backing from DiCaprio and others, the America’s Food Fund by mid-morning had raised $12.29 million, well on its way to its $15 million goal.
“We have an opportunity to come together to support our neighbors in this critical time of need,” the fundraising effort added.
