by Donald Wood
Last updated: 10:13 AM ET, Fri April 10, 2020
To help communities around the United States impacted by the coronavirus outbreak, American Airlines distributed more than 81,000 pounds of food to charities through its partnership with Feeding America.
As demand for air travel dropped drastically and visitors rush to food banks due to the financial impact of the viral pandemic, American realized it had a surplus of food from its inflight service and Admirals Club lounges.
As a result, the airline is donating everything from breakfast items to fresh produce to support area food banks, including Greater Chicago Food Depository, St. Mary's Food Bank in Phoenix, Equal Heart in Dallas and many more.
"We saw this as an opportunity to care for the communities where our team members and customers live and work," American Senior Vice President Ron DeFeo said in a statement. "The challenges facing local food banks and the growing need for families to utilize the resources these organizations offer have been well documented. Once we learned of the surplus, we knew exactly what we were going to do with it."
In addition, officials from American revealed they would be donating more than 10,000 food items to the Global Food Bank Network in Hong Kong.
In March, the airline announced it had raised more than $2 million in support of the American Red Cross' relief efforts. The carrier also revealed AAdvantage members who donate at least $25 to the coronavirus relief fund would earn 10 miles for every dollar, through April 30.
Other airlines are helping during the pandemic, as Delta recently announced it would offer free flights for medical volunteers traveling to areas that have been hit the hardest.
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