b'C S R E F F O R T S F O R T O D A YS C R I S I S Fyffes North America DonatesFresh Produce to Aid Hunger ReliefO ne of the many consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic has been an increase in food shortages, causing food banks and pantries across the nationto struggle to keep their shelves stocked. This places families and children who need it most at an even higher risk of experiencing food vulnerabilities. Fyffes North America has contributed substantially to reducing food shortages brought on by the increase in demand due to COVID-19, specifically as one of the largest global importers of fresh produce into the Port of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.Fyffes is a leading distributor and importer of bananas, pineapples, melons, and most recently, mushrooms. Sumitomo Corporation acquired Fyffes in 2017, growing its business beyond Asia, where at the time, it held over 30 percent of food imports. Based in Dublin, Ireland, and founded in 1888, Fyffes serves as the oldest produce label in the world, operating in Europe, North, and Central America. The fruit giants North American divi-sion ranks as the number one importer of offshore melons, the number three importer of super-sweet pineapples, and the fourth-largest importer of bananas. In March, when COVID-19 became rampant in the Philadelphia area, Fyffes North America con-nected with Philabundance, a member of Feeding America, to address the increasing need within their community. Philabundance, whose mission is to eliminate hunger throughout all the commu-nities they serve, is the number one provider to food banks in the Delaware area of Philadelphia,Access to fresh food during the COVID-19 pan-and works with a robust network of 400 partners,demic has become an increasingly urgent issue in the including churches, hospitals, schools, and libraries.Philadelphia area, said Juan Alarcon, CEO of Fyffes Since the start of their collaboration in 2012, FyffesNorth America. As the largest importer of fresh has donated a total of 3.5 million pounds of freshfruit into the Port of Philadelphia, we are uniquely fruit to Philabundance. suited to address food insecurity at this moment. We In mid-March, Fyffes North America, Holt are thankful for Mayor Jim Kenney, Holt Logistics, Logistics Corp, the City of Philadelphia, andand especially Philabundance for their tireless efforts Philabundance began weekly donations of 10,000to provide hunger relief for thousands of residents in pounds of bananas and pineapples to a ware- Philadelphia and beyond. house site in Roxborough, Pennsylvania, set upAccording to James Haas, Fyffes Port Operations as an emergency operations center to get foodManager in Philadelphia, Fyffes initially agreed to to residents in need. Through an already estab- contribute five green fruit pallets per week but con-lished partnership with the City of Philadelphia,tinued to go above and beyond each week, providing Philabundance helped to open up additional foodquality donations for the community. distribution sites. 16 visions Summer 2020'