Lipton's New Partnership Takes Aim At Food Insecurity

Food insecurity continues to plague our planet, according to World Food Programme. In 2021, as many as 10% of households in the U.S. had to deal with not having enough food for all its members to pursue an active and healthy lifestyle. A self-perpetuating problem, food insecurity interferes with productive living in myriad ways (via Feeding America). These include hindering the social and/or educational development of affected children and increasing the risk of cardiovascular disease (via a 2022 academic paper published in the American Journal of Preventive Cardiology). 

Complicating matters further is the issue of access — as in physical access to relief programs. A significant number of households that qualify for food assistance have limited or no means for accessing the resources those programs make available, per U.S. Hunger. In many cases, that comes down to a lack of transportation. In fact, of the 129,445 individuals who have told U.S. Hunger since 2020 that they require food assistance, 42.6% report they simply have no way of getting to wherever it is they may need to go in order to access fresh, healthy food. As one individual told U.S. Hunger, "Sometimes we have no money or food to eat and I don't have transportation to get free food donations."

Fortunately, one well-known food brand is not only cognizant of this untenable situation, but also prepared to put its money where its mouth is in offering meaningful relief. 

In 2019, a study published in Preventative Medicine Reports found that just 42% of those living in public housing have access to a vehicle. No wonder U.S. Hunger observed that 42.6% of those facing food insecurity cite lack of transportation as a precipitating or exacerbating factor. Accordingly, even as Lipton's new line of hard teas caters to those with presumably more disposable income, Lipton has turned its focus to a more primal matter: Getting fresh, healthy food to those vulnerable to food insecurity because they're housebound or their means of transportation is limited. 

In a press release, Lipton announced a new partnership with Full Cart, a non-profit organization that partners with large-scale donors to supply food directly to those facing food insecurity. And by "directly," we mean delivered right to the homes of those in need — with all costs of carrying and shipping covered by the charity. In other words, Lipton's new partnership takes aim at food insecurity by sponsoring the free delivery of heart-healthy foods to those in need. 

According to the press release, Lipton committed $275,000 to Full Cart and earmarked it to fund the free delivery of healthy foods directly to 2,500 families in seven major cities (Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Miami, Montgomery, Nashville, and New York City). All foods delivered will be shelf-stable, and all will come with free information on how to turn those foods into healthy meals.