Lowcountry Food Bank and Bank of America bring holiday cheer, continue employee booster campaign partnership

Bank of America contributed $70,000 and hands-on support to help curb hunger amidst this year’s challenging economic circumstances

Bank of America and Lowcountry Food Bank have partnered throughout this year to address food insecurity through several grant and volunteer activities, including the bank’s recent Employee Booster Campaign. The Lowcountry Food Bank received a $25,000 donation from Bank of America to address food insecurity as part of the bank’s unique approach to encouraging employees to receive an annual flu shot and/or coronavirus vaccine or booster, while also investing in the Lowcountry community. Additionally, bank teammates prepared 1,250 holiday meal boxes for food-insecure neighbors and seniors.

Encouraging bank volunteers preparing holiday food boxes, Nick Osborne, President and CEO of Lowcountry Food Bank remarked, “What a great way to encourage Bank of America employees to be safe and get vaccinated while at the same time benefiting working families by providing hunger relief through your grant and volunteering.”

This donation builds on the bank’s commitments earlier this year. In all, Bank of America has provided $70,000 in grant funding and hundreds of hands-on volunteer hours from employees in 2022. The impact of the bank’s support is significant – for every dollar donated, Lowcountry Food Bank can provide up to six meals for someone in the community who is struggling with hunger. The bank’s financial contributions alone will help create 420,000 meals for individuals and families throughout the Lowcountry this year.

1st 2022 Employee Booster Campaign $25,000 grant (February) Bank employees packed 500 BackPack Buddies bags to alleviate weekend hunger for food-insecure students and provided $20,000 in additional financial support (June) 2nd 2022 Employee Booster Campaign $25,000 grant and bank employees packed 1,250 senior food holiday boxes for food-insecure families and individuals (December)

Prices of food and other essential items increased this year due to compounding economic factors. While everyone in the community is experiencing higher prices and shortages of the goods, this has affected the Lowcountry Food Bank’s food-insecure neighbors who were already facing challenges. The food insecurity rate in coastal South Carolina is more than 11%, resulting in more than 161,000 individuals who face hunger every day, which includes more than 45,000 children not having consistent access to the healthy food they need to live healthy, active lives. Families struggling to access enough food are at further risk as pandemic-era programs and benefits expire, which will likely induce more demand for assistance from organizations like Lowcountry Food Bank.

At a time when inflated prices have made it more difficult for neighbors to access essential food and goods, the bank’s contributions are supporting equitable food access and hunger-relief efforts throughout the 10 coastal South Carolina counties Lowcountry Food Bank serves. The timing of this latest funding from Bank of America is particularly helpful as the food bank works to ensure that seniors, veterans, individuals, families, and children do not have to worry about where their next meal is going to come from, especially during holiday season.

“Bank of America is again linking employee booster shots with addressing hunger in the Lowcountry as part of our overall commitment to the health of our team and wellness of our entire community,” said Mark Munn, president, Bank of America Charleston/Hilton Head. “Our longstanding support of the Lowcountry Food Bank is part of our commitment to driving change for good and eliminating barriers like hunger that drive inequality and create disparities in our community.”

Bank of America has consistently supported Lowcountry Food Bank for 12 years, totaling more than $280,000 in grants. These contributions are part of the bank’s longstanding efforts to address hunger relief and support the health and safety of its employees and community. As a result of these efforts, Bank of America has committed $18 million to local hunger-relief organizations across the U.S. and Puerto Rico.

Bank of America

Bank of America is one of the world’s leading financial institutions, serving individual consumers, small and middle-market businesses and large corporations with a full range of banking, investing, asset management and other financial and risk management products and services. The company provides unmatched convenience in the United States, serving approximately 68 million consumer and small business clients with approximately 3,900 retail financial centers, approximately 16,000 ATMs and award-winning digital banking with approximately 56 million verified digital users. Bank of America is a global leader in wealth management, corporate and investment banking and trading across a broad range of asset classes, serving corporations, governments, institutions and individuals around the world. Bank of America offers industry-leading support to approximately 3 million small business households through a suite of innovative, easy-to-use online products and services. The company serves clients through operations across the United States, its territories and approximately 35 countries. Bank of America Corporation stock (NYSE: BAC) is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

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About the Lowcountry Food Bank: Feed. Advocate. Empower.

The Lowcountry Food Bank serves the 10 coastal counties of South Carolina and distributed more than 40 million pounds of food in 2021. The Lowcountry Food Bank helps fight hunger by distributing food to more than 250 partner agencies including on-site meal programs, homeless shelters and emergency food pantries. The Lowcountry Food Bank advocates on behalf of those who experience hunger and helps empower people to make healthy and nutritious food choices. For more information, visit the Lowcountry Food Bank website.