by Siobhan Kenney

Feb 04, 2020

Food insecurity is a global issue. In communities around the world, people struggle to provide nutritious meals to their families. The World Food Program reports that 1 in 7 people are hungry and one-third of all food is wasted.

As an engaged corporate citizen, Applied Materials has held a North America food drive for decades.  We take seriously the responsibility to help alleviate hunger in regions where our employees work and live. We are proud of our generous U.S.-based employees, who together with matching funds from the Applied Materials Foundation, helped us raise more than $2.35 million for 40 food banks across the country during November-December.

We are equally proud that this year our Fight Against Hunger expanded to include multiple sites across the globe. Each effort was tailored to address the specific needs of local residents and to resonate culturally both with donors and food recipients. Applied teams were creative in educating and engaging employees for maximum success. 

In China, we worked with the Shanghai Oasis Public Welfare organization to pack 500 boxes of food in four locations for distribution to those in need. We also created a quiz to raise awareness of food waste and encourage personal action on the issue.

India’s efforts supported a number of agencies including SOS Children’s Villages and Reaching Hand. To infuse fun into the campaign, we hosted a farmer’s market, group workouts and food fests to raise donations. 

As part of Applied’s 30th anniversary celebrations in Taiwan, we staged a variety of fundraising events and reflected on the impact employees have made in the community over the last several years to package 60,000 meals benefiting 10,000 underserved families. The meals were distributed to a network of charities by the Taiwan People's Food Bank Association in Southern Taiwan.

Aligning with spring festival season, hundreds of Israel employees partnered with "Latet" to alleviate hunger by sorting and packing thousands of food boxes for distribution to families in need. In addition, Applied worked with Hod Israel—a 100% voluntary organization—to create food parcels which were delivered to deserving families in the Rehovot area.

In Japan, we packed boxes of rice, miso, soy sauce, sugar and cooking oil for distribution through Second Harvest Japan to students during summer months when they do not have access to school-provided lunch.

While the problem of food insecurity can be overwhelming, Applied Materials is grateful to be involved in helping to make a difference in local communities. We are committed to building on our long history of corporate social responsibility and will continue to raise awareness and funds to Fight Against Hunger in the areas where our employees work and live.

Follow our community activities year-round on Twitter at @Applied4Good to learn how Applied and our employees are making a positive contribution to the world. You can also check out our CSR report.

Tags: CSR, ESG, food drive, Fight Against Hunger, community, Second Harvest Silicon Valley