Second Harvest Food Bank received a $16,000 grant from local Red Lobster, Olive Garden and Longhorn Steakhouse restaurants as part of a national effort by Darden Restaurants.
The Darden Foundation, the charitable arm of Darden Restaurants Inc., awarded more than $1.9 million to more than 850 nonprofit organizations in the United States and Canada as part of its Restaurant Community Grants program.
The program empowers each restaurant in the Darden family of brands to help award a $1,000 grant to support local community programs that align with three focus areas: access to post-secondary education, preservation of natural resources and hunger.
Darden operates more than 2000 restaurants throughout North America. Each location is given the opportunity to identify specific needs in their area then allows them to select a nonprofit that supports those needs.
“Our employees are incredibly passionate about the communities where they live, and our restaurant teams are in a position to understand and help address the needs of their communities,” Drew Madsen, Darden Restaurants’ president and chief operating officer, said. “We’re all proud to build on that passion through the grants program and bring real, local citizenship to life by enabling each restaurant to make a difference in their backyard.”
Darden’s Red Lobster, Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Bahama Breeze, Seasons 52, The Capital Grille and Eddie V’s brands participated in the program. Many restaurants and brands worked together to award one nonprofit organization with a larger grant and make a greater impact in their community.
"More than 140,000 children live in very low-income families in our area, which means that they face a very high risk of being hungry,” Dave Krepcho, President & CEO of Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida said. “ While these kids can participate in lunch programs at school during the week, there is too often a real challenge for them on weekends.
Krepcho added that “Darden's generous contribution of funds to Second Harvest Food Bank's Hi-Five weekend food pack program will provide more than 4,000 kids with the nutrition they need to come to school on Monday ready to learn and grow.”
Darden’s Restaurant Community Grants program reflects the company’s rich heritage of being of service to others, a concept that began more than 40 years ago with founder Bill Darden.
The Darden Foundation embodies these core citizenship values by striving to improve the quality of life in the communities where Darden employees live and serve.
And it is evident that these values are, in fact, genuinely shared by Darden employees.
Comments