Walmart.org's Response to COVID-19
Walmart and the Walmart Foundation have committed $43 million of cash and in-kind to support organizations on the front lines responding to COVID-19 to strengthen the global public health response, bolster food security, and support the needs of local communities in the U.S. and internationally.
United States
In the United States, our grants for response to the impact of COVID-19 fall into these areas of need: food access, healthcare, small business and technology. In each area, we’ve given to organizations that support pivotal parts of the fight against the novel coronavirus. What follows is a list of our grantees in the U.S and information about Fight Hunger. Spark Change.
Food Access
In addition to ongoing donations of unsold food from our stores and DCs and our Healthier Food for All program at Walmart.org, Walmart and the Walmart Foundation funded grants across the U.S. to bolster food security (for example, the Walmart Foundation committed $10 million in response to the pandemic to organizations helping increase food access, including $5 million to Feeding America). We focused on helping people access food benefits and supporting community organizations working to provide immediate access to meals and groceries – especially those who are most vulnerable. The grants focused on these areas of need:
Food Distribution - food banks and distribution agencies.
- American Indian College Fund – help address immediate food security needs of tribal colleges and universities’ students and their families in surrounding communities.
- Arkansas Community Foundation – support for hunger relief as well as community sub-grants for nonprofits and community organizations responding to the pandemic.
- Bay Cove Human Services – help with food access for vulnerable populations.
- Blue Grass Community Foundation – support for nonprofit service providers helping supply food, healthcare, prescription medicines, transportation, information and other basic needs.
- Central Pennsylvania Food Bank – support for response boxes to minimize contact in light of volunteer shortage due to COVID-19.
- CESC – The Kearney Center – support for food and housing for the homeless population in an eight-county area in Florida.
- Community Food Bank – support for critical need for food for local food bank.
- DC Central Kitchen – support for COVID related food access programs and response teams.
- Emerald Youth Foundation – support for food pantry, volunteers, and the Boys and Girls Club of Knoxville.
- Feeding America – help communities and individuals facing hunger during the COVID-19 outbreak.
- Food and Friends – help with food access for underserved populations in Washington D.C.
- Food Bank of Lincoln – support for critical need for food access for rural areas in 16 counties in Nebraska.
- Food Bank of the Heartland – support for mobile food pantries and backpack programs in rural areas, Omaha metro and 16 counties in western Iowa.
- Food Bank of the Rockies – help with improving food access for people impacted by COVID-19.
- Harvesters – support for summer feeding sites for northeast Kansas and northwest Missouri.
- Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Food Bank – support for military, seniors, children and working families due to lay-offs, school closures and health issues.
- League of United Latin American Citizens – help create emergency essential kits for the elderly that include food/medicine, sanitation supplies and more.
- Living Healthy in Florida – help address the increasing demand for food assistance and support for Florida’s farmers and independent food banks.
- Mercy Housing – help ensure families, seniors and people with disabilities have what they need to get through this pandemic.
- Multicultural Women Executive Leadership Foundation – support for hospitals to feed healthcare workers in southern California.
- National Black Child Development Institute – support for distribution of gift cards, food packages, supplies and referrals to resources directly to families in need in Atlanta, Metro D.C., Newark, Los Angeles, New York and Miami.
- North West Arkansas Food Bank – support for food distribution and increased demand.
- Northwell Health Foundation – support for meals and other services for emergency workers in New York.
- Ordinary Towards Extraordinary Foundation – support for food, water and cleaning supplies.
- Para Los Niños – address food security needs in the Los Angeles community.
- Partnership with Native Americans – support to assemble and deliver 689 emergency food boxes to elders, persons with disabilities, the homeless and families who most need supplies during the COVID-19 quarantine.
- Salvation Army of Northwest Arkansas – support for expanded services.
- Samaritan House Community Center – support for expanded services.
- San Antonio Food Bank – help increase food access for vulnerable populations.
- Sun Valley Kitchen & Community Center – help address various health, wellness and nutrition needs stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic.
- The Arc Nature Coast – support for emergency relief for direct care staff.
- World Central Kitchen – support for delivering fresh meals, putting restaurants back to work, feeding frontline healthcare workers and mapping feeding efforts and identifying where gaps exist and resources are needed.
Grantee Spotlight
Meals on Wheels
Meals on Wheels is a nationwide network of community-based, non-profit programs dedicated to providing seniors in their communities with the support that enables them to remain living in their own homes. This support is typically a nutritious meal, a friendly visit and a quick safety check. When COVID-19 hit, millions of seniors found themselves more vulnerable and in need of urgent support, practically overnight. With support from Walmart and other donors, Meals on Wheels rose to the challenge and Made Good Go Further to deliver 19 million more meals and an additional one million seniors. Watch how local Meals on Wheels programs battled the impact of the coronavirus on the frontlines, as the world stayed in.
Meal Programs - Support school and community food service in providing meals for families.
- Area Agency on Aging of North West Arkansas – support for outreach and service to seniors.
- Darlington County Council on Aging – support for Meals on Wheels for Darlington County, S.C.
- Kansas Food Bank Warehouse – support for senior meal program for rural areas.
- Marion County Council on Aging – support for Meals on Wheels for Marion County, S.C.
- Marlboro Country Council on Aging – support for Meals on Wheels for Marlboro County, S.C.
- Mayor’s Fund for Los Angeles – support for home-delivered meals program for older adults.
- Meals on Wheels of Horry County – support for meal programs for area homebound seniors.
- Meals on Wheels – help keep senior Americans safe and nourished during the pandemic.
- SAGE – support for emergency food assistance to LGBT elders in New York City.
- Senior Resources, Inc. – support for Meals on Wheels for Richland County, S.C.
- Share our Strength – help feed children and families during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- YMCA El Paso del Norte Region – help with meal program for vulnerable populations.
Access to benefits - Support for organizations providing information or benefits application assistance (SNAP, WIC)
- Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance – support for statewide coordination of SNAP/WIC benefits and COVID response efforts with food banks in Arkansas and other key stakeholders.
- Benefits Data Trust – help connect individuals and families with benefits to access food and reach financial stability.
- Catholic Charities – support food access for underserved populations.
- Food Research & Action Center – help coordinate food response with local, state and federal agencies and nonprofits.
- Hunger Free America – help connect families and individuals with benefits to access food.
- UnidosUS – help improve food access in Latinx communities.
Fight Hunger.Spark Change
Walmart and Sam’s Club have long been working to fight food insecurity. But the drive shown by our customers, members and associates was more evident than ever in 2020, when we launched Fight Hunger. Spark Change. early to aid those impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Then, in 2021, Walmart began the campaign by donating $3 million to Feeding America, supporting food banks in the places most vulnerable to food insecurity. In 2022, as we enter the ninth year of the campaign, we’ve donated more than 7 billion pounds of food to Feeding America member food banks as we work to fight hunger in communities nationwide.
Healthcare
Our philanthropic contributions related to healthcare in the U.S. have focused on organizations on the front lines of the COVID-19 response; for example, we’ve donated to the Hispanic Federation and the Boys and Girls Club of America Native Services, who are providing aid for frontline workers and vulnerable populations in communities around the country. We’ve also donated personal protective equipment to healthcare providers and supported organizations that increase education and awareness of the COVID-19 vaccine to diverse communities around the United States. Read below for more details and information about our grant recipients.
- AltaMed Health Services Corp. – funds to purchase equipment, protective gear for staff and supplies to be able to provide hygiene kits, food security baskets, protective gear to those with the greatest need.
- Arkansas Healthcare Association – help purchase PPE for residents and employees at assisted living and nursing facilities across the state of Arkansas.
- Banco de Alimentos Puerto Rico (Food Bank of Puerto Rico) – support for hygiene and food items for underserved populations.
- Baton Rouge Area Foundation – support for relief fund for Louisiana residents affected by current public health emergency.
- Boys and Girls Club of America Native Services – support for 206 Native clubs across the country that serve over 120,000 youth on Native lands.
- Community Foundation of New Jersey – support for coordination of resources to help fight the medical, social and economic impact of COVID-19 on New Jersey’s most vulnerable populations.
- Dana-Farber Cancer Institute – support for PPE and other supplies.
- Greater New Orleans Foundation – help provide critical support to organizations delivering services to vulnerable populations.
- Health Research, Inc. – support for medical equipment and supplies for temporary centers in New York.
- Hispanic Federation – help provide relief for frontline workers impacted by COVID-19 in New York.
- Hispanics in Philanthropy – support for PPE for farm workers in the Midwest as well as a relief fund for farm farmworker families.
- LARC, Inc. – support for sanitation of client rooms and PPE for staff.
- Mercy Health Foundation – help with equipment to expand regional testing capacities
- Mile High United Way – support unmet needs of the communities and agencies impacted by COVID-19 in response and recovery.
- The Arc of Greater Prince William – help with PPE and other supplies.
- United Way of Central Massachusetts – support for emergency grants for residents.
- University of Arkansas Foundation (UAMS) – support for Spanish and Marshallese translators for Health Now Hotline.
Another immediate challenge facing us as a country is the increased demand for medical supplies, especially PPE. We tapped into our supply chain to help McKesson source and deliver gowns and coveralls to healthcare professionals in the U.S. We have also collaborated with Salesforce and State Farm to provide masks and shoe coverings to healthcare workers in Michigan and Louisiana. Walmart also donated 50,000 masks to hospitals in New York and more than 3,000 masks to underserved communities in Los Angeles County.
Small Business
To help provide emergency assistance to small business owners impacted by the pandemic, we supported an effort by Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) to help small businesses, including support for the LISC Rapid Relief and Resiliency Fund. The Fund helps provide emergency assistance to small business owners impacted by the pandemic.
Technology and Community Support
We have provided some support to organizations assisting with internet access for online learning and remote provision of social services. (for example, organizations like the National Urban League and the NAACP using technology to meet urgent local needs). Read below to view grant recipients:
- 100 Black Men of America – support for internet access and other resources for students.
- Celebrating Nebraska Statehood, Inc. – support for PPE and computer for low-income and rural students.
- Center for Asian Pacific American Women – support for technology for online learning.
- NAACP – help address the immediate needs of the African American community through tele-town halls and for PPE in Detroit, St. Louis, Chicago, Mississippi, Louisiana, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina.
- National Urban League – support to create a network platform that will deliver housing counseling to clients of nonprofits service providers and to help meet the financial needs of vulnerable households impacted by COVID-19 in Philadelphia, West Palm Beach, Chicago, Pittsburgh, and Louisville.
- OCA National – support for technology needs for online studies for students attending Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions.
- The Arc Gloucester – support for technology and adaptive equipment in group home so residents can continue to have contact with family, friends and medical support.
- United Cerebral Palsy Seguin of Greater Chicago – support for communications equipment and PPE for direct support professionals for group homes struggling due to state mandated closure of services sites.
- United Way of Northwest Arkansas – support for expanded services for Arkansas 211.
Global Health Response
We contributed $5 million to the UN Foundation’s COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund to support the World Health Organization’s global efforts to help countries prevent, detect and manage the coronavirus.
International: Support to Local Communities
Below is the list of organizations receiving cash and in-kind donations from Walmart entities for COVID-19 response:
- Food Forward South Africa – donations of nonperishable food for vulnerable communities including the Massmart Board and Executive Committee pledging a contribution of food via a salary reduction.
- Gift of Givers – support for the procurement and distribution of FFP2 masks to public health system testing sites across South Africa. Additional in-kind contributions include hazmat suits, visors, tents, furniture, and other non-medical equipment.
- In-kind support of high-quality protective visors distributed to nurses, doctors and first responders in public healthcare facilities to combat COVID-19.
- Cruz Roja Argentina – help purchase personal hygiene kits and sanitation kits and provide teleassistance services for vulnerable families affected by the crisis.
- Santa Fe Food Bank – donations of fruits, vegetables, rice and canned goods.
- Canada Red Cross – support domestic relief and recovery operations.
- Food Banks Canada – help source, package and deliver food to individuals and families experiencing food insecurity as a result of the of the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Vancouver Food Bank – donations of shopping bags for food transport.
- Honduran Armed Forces – donations of fresh produce for vulnerable communities.
- National Emergency Operations Center in Guatemala – donation of disinfectants, paper products and food for people in need and temporary hospitals.
- World Vision Honduras – support across five countries (Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Costa Rica and Guatemala) to help purchase biosecurity equipment and distribution to local health facilities and hospitals; purchase of basic hygiene kits for vulnerable families; and purchase of food for vulnerable populations.
- Permanent Contingency Commission for health measures in hospitals and health centers in Honduras – donations of cleaning products and fruits and vegetables.
- Hogar de Cristo – help with sanitary and hygiene support services for seniors.
- Minister of Social Development and the Department of Youth and Children – donations of food products for families in need.
- China Business Forum – help purchase medical supplies for hospitals in China treating those infected with the virus.
- China Women’s Development Foundation – support for the Fighting COVID-19 Angels program providing critical supplies and financial aid to healthcare workers, community workers and families in lower-tier cities and counties within the Hubei province.
- Give2Asia – help purchase medical supplies, meal subsidies, rest areas for frontline workers and middle and long-term recovery efforts related to COVID-19.
- The One Foundation – help purchase medical supplies and disinfection services.
- Akshaya Patra – help support the COVID-19 meal program.
- Canadian Red Cross India COVID-19 Response Appeal – donation from Walmart Canada will support ambulance and transport services for patients, quarantine isolation centers and other services.
- CUPA – help the welfare of animals in Bangalore.
- Doctors for You – help operate isolation centers and temporary hospitals, as well as provide personal protective equipment for frontline medical workers.
- Give India – Flipkart raised funds and distributed hygiene products, oxygen and PPE kits to underserved communities. A donation from the Walmart Foundation will support physical infrastructure and medical equipment.
- Goonj – support for essential relief kits for families in areas well known for migration.
- In-kind donations include N95 masks and medical gowns for distribution by non-government organizations to public health care workers.
- PM CARES Fund – donation from Walmart Labs India to Prime Minister Modi’s PM Fund, and participation by PhonePe in a matching program with donors.
- SRIJAN – help for rural communities and farmer producers whose livelihoods are affected by COVID-19.
- Florence – support for disadvantaged families impacted by the pandemic.
- Second Harvest Food Bank – support through food donations.
- Carlos Slim Foundation – support for temporary hospitals.
- Partnered with Alimento Para Todos Mexico and DHL Mexico to deliver food to elder grocery baggers.
- In-kind support includes food donations and cleaning products to food banks, soup kitchens and hostels.
- FareShare – support for meals for families impacted by Coronavirus as well as support for additional charities to increase food access in their communities.
- Trussell Trust – support for telephone, online and food delivery systems.
