The Mazda Foundation (USA) Inc. this week donated $50,000 to the Food Bank of North Alabama in an emergency gift to help meet growing demand for food amid economic struggles caused by the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Mazda, together with Toyota, is building the $2.3 million Mazda Toyota manufacturing facility in Huntsville, said it is the second donation it has made to the food bank since March when the first COVID-19 cases were identified in Alabama.
Altogether, Mazda has donated $94,000 to the Huntsville-based food bank during the pandemic, “signifying its commitment to be a strong partner in the neighborhoods in which Mazda manufactures and sells its vehicles,” according to the press release.
“The pandemic has created enormous need in communities across the country,” Jeff Guyton, president of Mazda North American Operations and chairman of the Mazda Foundation (USA), Inc., said in the press release. “Addressing a fundamental need like food security is a clear expression of the Mazda Foundation’s guiding principle that what matters most is one another.”
According to the press release, the award to the Food Bank of North Alabama is one of nine grant awards that the Mazda Foundation made this month to address food insecurity in six major metropolitan areas across the United States. In total, the grants will enable the awardees to serve an estimated 730,000 meals in the next 12 months.
“Mazda Toyota Manufacturing is committed to serving as a hometown company in our North Alabama Community. We appreciate the ongoing support of this commitment demonstrated by donations to important nonprofit partners such as the Food Bank of North Alabama by our parent companies, Mazda and Toyota,” Masashi Aihara, president of Mazda Toyota Manufacturing, said in the press release.
“The Food Bank of North Alabama is very appreciative of this generous funding from the Mazda Foundation as we seek to respond to the growing number of people seeking food assistance, especially families who have never needed help before,” Shirley Schofield, executive director of the Food Bank of North Alabama, said in the press release.