To address global food insecurity, as well as acute hunger that has been fueled by the crisis in Ukraine, the John Deere Foundation has donated $1 million to World Food Program USA. Half of the funds will be put toward the global humanitarian work of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), while the rest will go toward the WFP Innovation Accelerator. This initiative sources, supports, and scales high-impact innovations with the goal of eliminating hunger.
"At John Deere, we are committed to helping feed the world and understand the important role of innovative technologies and business models in achieving that goal," said John C. May, chairman and CEO of Deere & Company and chairman of the John Deere Foundation. "This investment in the World Food Program, and in its Innovation Accelerator, holds the promise of helping end hunger today and in the future."
Earlier in 2022, the John Deere Foundation donated $250,000 to World Food Program USA to support humanitarian efforts in Ukraine and the region. A $500,000 investment in 2021 also went toward supporting the WFP Innovation Accelerator.
"Together with John Deere's support, the WFP Innovation Accelerator positively impacted the lives of 9 million people — including 2.2 million smallholder farmers — in 2021," said Hila Cohen, head of business development and chief of staff at the UN World Food Programme Innovation Accelerator. "We will continue to build this unique, SDG-focused partnership by investing in innovations aimed at disrupting hunger and bringing projects to scale for maximum impact."
Through the John Deere Foundation's employee giving programs, more than 88,600 meals have been donated to combat global hunger in 2022 alone. More information on this John Deere initiative can be found at www.JohnDeere.com.