June 2020

The JPMorgan Chase community is stepping up to address immediate humanitarian needs — like hunger and food insecurity — posed by the global coronavirus pandemic.

These issues long predate the coronavirus outbreak, as World Food Programme Insight reports that over 800 million people face chronic undernourishment and over 100 million need lifesaving food assistance. The coronavirus pandemic has exacerbated this already dire situation, amplifying the need for humanitarian assistance in recent months.

Here's how JPMorgan Chase employees around the world have answered the call.

In Brazil, the Global Trade team raised money to buy 14 boxes of essential food items for Serviço Franciscano de Solidariedade, a non-profit that assists homeless individuals, immigrants and vulnerable communities in downtown São Paulo. Caio de Souza Pinto, head of Brazil Platform Sales, participated in Make them Smile, a NGO-led initiative in Sao Paulo to collect donations to buy and distribute basic food packages to more than 800 families at Capao Redondo communities (a “favela"). About 500 more families will receive assistance in the next few weeks.

In India, employees contributed to United Way chapters in Mumbai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad to help provide daily essentials and sanitization kits for migrant workers, wage laborers and their families who lost their income due to the lockdown. Employees are also contributing to the national fund PM CARES to support COVID-19 research and treatment.

In Mexico, employees participated in the Pay It Forward program, which doubles the value of an employee's initial gift to a firm-approved organization. One popular recipient is Comedor Santa Maria, a charity which operates local foodbanks throughout the country and is dedicated to feeding and educating Mexican children living in extreme poverty.

In Poland, employees are supporting The Federation of Polish Food Banks, which leads a coalition of 31 food banks serving vulnerable communities for 27 years. The organization is working to support food collection, transportation and food delivery operations.

In South Africa, early indications suggest 34% of the population faced hunger and food insecurity during the lockdown. Firm contributions helped support 670 SmartStart female-owned franchisees experiencing a total loss of income and funded efforts by RLabs to provide food and basic need vouchers to 10,000 youth and their families. The two organizations have served more than 53,000 individuals.

In Spain, employees have supported the Spanish Red Cross, Aldeas Infantiles and Amigos de La Calle to help vulnerable populations and reduce the impact of COVID-19 on communities across the country. Through their efforts, the most vulnerable families have received emergency aid including food, hygiene, health care and vouchers.

In the U.K., the firm has supported The Trussell Trust and St. Mungo's, organizations that help vulnerable populations access food services. The Trussell Trust has deployed teams across 1,200 food bank locations to meet an 81% increase in emergency food parcel distribution from the same period last year, including a 122% increase in parcels given to children. St. Mungo's has helped thousands of homeless people to self-isolate across 300 centers and has provided access to food.

In the U.S., the firm contributed to Feeding America to support more than 200 food banks. The firm is also supporting World Central Kitchen's Chefs for America, which served 3,319,542 meals in 934 locations in just 40 days. The organization was able to activate in 152 cities, 31 states and territories. Click here to see the organization's work in action.