Chick-fil-A announced a relief effort dedicated to helping local franchisees continue their support of those impacted by COVID-19 in the communities they serve.
The COVID-19 relief effort is anchored by a $10.8 million fund that Chick-fil-A, Inc. will distribute to local communities through its network of more than 1,800 independent Owner-Operators. Funds will be made available to Chick-fil-A Operators through June 2020 with the intent to have an immediate impact on the needs of local communities, including food donations or items to first responders, health care workers, Chick-fil-A Team Members and their families.
“Striving to be a supportive, caring and generous neighbor is in our DNA. Our restaurant Operators give back locally in so many ways, and this time is no exception,” says Chick-fil-A Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Dan Cathy. “I’m humbled by the incredible care our restaurant teams have shown—from offering free meals to health care workers to feeding school children in need to writing notes of encouragement for guests. They know where the need is in their local community, and our goal for this fund is to support their efforts.”
The chain’s food donation program, called Chick-fil-A Shared Table, was established in 2012 with more than 1,100 restaurants now participating. Restaurants that participate in the program donate their surplus food to local shelters, soup kitchens and charities. More than 320,000 meals have been served through the program since the beginning of March 2020.
While many Chick-fil-A restaurants are donating food to first responders and others impacted by COVID-19 at the local level, Chick-fil-A, Inc. also is helping to feed those in need during this time. More than 5,000 meals have been donated to school systems, health care workers and others on the front lines in the restaurant company’s hometown of Atlanta, Georgia. The Chick-fil-A supply chain has donated 7,715 cases of fresh produce to Feeding America.
Finally, in an annual tradition, Chick-fil-A, Inc. is continuing to invest in thousands of local restaurant employees this spring to support their educational dreams. Chick-fil-A will invest a total of $17 million in scholarships to 6,700 Team Members in 47 U.S. states and Canada this year. Scholarships can be applied to any area of study at any accredited institution.