by Lacey Pfalz
Last updated: 10:20 AM ET, Tue May 28, 2024
MGM Resorts International, known for its entertainment resort like the Bellagio in Las Vegas, announced on May 28 that it surpassed its 2025 goal of donating five million meals through its MGM Resorts Feeding Forward program since 2016.
In 2023 alone, the hotel company donated over 1.2 million meals through its charitable giving program. Many of the meals are donated through grants to local organizations focusing on hunger relief and funded meals, as well as donating prepared food from buffets and events, which would otherwise be thrown away.
Trays of food are packaged and frozen on-property, then donated to Three Square Food Bank, which distributes the food from the hotel to over 120 hunger relief agencies.
"We are extremely proud of the environmental and social impacts of this program," said Jyoti Chopra, Chief People, Inclusion and Sustainability Officer at MGM Resorts. "This incredible achievement is the result of innovation, creative drive and the hard work of our people, all of which allows us to recover food of all types at a significant scale and help our neighbors struggling with food insecurity. In keeping with this year's World Hunger Day theme, our company is committed to breaking the cycle of malnutrition and building a thriving world."
Data from Feeding America found that in 2023, Southern Nevada had over 274,000 food insecure residents, which is about one in eight people. MGM recently provided grants to Southern Nevada organizations, including Catholic Charities of Southern Nevada, HELP of Southern Nevada, the Just One Project, Nevada Homeless Alliance, the United States Veterans Initiative and Ronald McDonald House Charities of Greater Las Vegas Inc.
"Families with seriously ill or injured children come to the doorsteps of the Ronald McDonald House with the weight of the world on their shoulders,” said Alyson McCarthy, CEO of Ronald McDonald House Charities of Greater Las Vegas. “Whether it's because they don't think about eating, can't afford to spend the money, or simply can't make another decision, many go without eating a regular healthy meal.”
“With MGM Resorts' commitment to providing hunger relief in our community, we are able to serve nearly 5,200 freshly prepared meals to children and families through our Taste of Home Dinner Program,” continued McCarthy. “This helps meet a nutritional need to keep their strength up during a difficult time and, more importantly, it enables families to fully focus on what is most important – the recovery of their child."
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