American donates 81,000 pounds of Admirals Club and inflight food to food banks
This post contains references to products from one or more of our advertisers. We may receive compensation when you click on links to those products. Terms apply to the offers listed on this page. For an explanation of our Advertising Policy, visit this page.
The coronavirus pandemic has taken a stark toll on America’s economy.
In the past few weeks, more than 16 million citizens have filed for unemployment — a record-breaking reminder of the disease’s social impact.
The travel industry has been hit particularly hard, with demand for airline tickets and new hotel reservations in free fall. That’s left American Airlines with a surplus of unserved food that was originally intended for inflight meals and Admiral’s Club catering.
Sign up for the free daily TPG newsletter for more airline news.
Now, the airline has decided to put that food to good use and donate it to food banks around the country.
“We saw this as an opportunity to care for the communities where our team members and customers live and work,” Ron DeFeo, senior vice president – global engagement for American, said in a statement. “The challenges facing local food banks and the growing need for families to utilize the resources these organizations offer have been well documented. Once we learned of the surplus, we knew exactly what we were going to do with it.”
With unemployment claims continuing to rise, food banks have seen a jump in demand for their services.
Related: Delta is donating more than 200,000 pounds of food to the coronavirus relief effort.
To help answer that demand, American has donated more than 81,000 pounds of food so far this month. Those donations include:
- 63,000 meals to the Greater Chicago Food Depository.
- 26,000 meals to St. Mary’s Food Bank in Phoenix.
- 4,000 pounds of fresh produce to Equal Heart in Dallas.
- 1,100 pounds of milk to Minnie’s Food Pantry in Dallas.
- 10,000 food items to the Tarrant Area Food Bank in Fort Worth, Texas.
The airline said its donations include everything from “breakfast items to fresh produce.”
American employees have found other ways of helping the national COVID-19 response, too.
Read more: TSA reaches new low record for screenings.
Workers across the airline’s network have started making face masks to distribute to their colleagues and other frontline workers whose jobs deny them the opportunity to socially distance. In Miami, a team of American employees even converted a boarded-up Admiral’s Club into a temporary textile factory.
According to American, its employees have sewn more than 1,300 face masks in the last week.
Featured photo by Katie Genter/The Points Guy
Sign-up Successful!
Welcome to The Points Guy!
WELCOME OFFER: 80,000 Points
TPG'S BONUS VALUATION*: $1,600
CARD HIGHLIGHTS: 3X points on dining and 2x points on travel, points transferrable to over a dozen travel partners
*Bonus value is an estimated value calculated by TPG and not the card issuer. View our latest valuations here.
- Earn 80,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $1,000 when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards®.
- Enjoy benefits such as a $50 annual Ultimate Rewards Hotel Credit, 5x on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards®, 3x on dining and 2x on all other travel purchases, plus more.
- Get 25% more value when you redeem for airfare, hotels, car rentals and cruises through Chase Ultimate Rewards®. For example, 80,000 points are worth $1,000 toward travel.
- With Pay Yourself Back℠, your points are worth 25% more during the current offer when you redeem them for statement credits against existing purchases in select, rotating categories
- Count on Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance, Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver, Lost Luggage Insurance and more.
Disclaimer: The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser’s responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
Editorial Disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airlines or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.