Matson Commits $5 Million to Support Community Food Banks through 2023
Cargo operations at Matson’s Anchorage terminal.
Matson
Matson has committed $5 million in cash and in-kind shipping services to the food bank networks supporting families in need in Hawaii, Alaska, and Guam. Already a longtime financial supporter in those communities, Matson will provide the food banks with ocean shipping of food supplies at no cost for the remainder of 2020 and all of 2021, 2022, and 2023.
The new commitment follows Matson’s support earlier this year for Food Bank of Alaska, as well as other Alaska community food security programs, including the Port Users Food Drive; Children’s Lunchbox; Unalaskans Against Sexual Assault and Family Violence; and The Salvation Army.
“With the pandemic affecting incomes for so many, families in all of our communities are under extraordinary strain and food banks are struggling to keep up with the need. This is something we can do to help food banks put more of their funding toward sourcing food for distribution,” says Matt Cox, chairman and CEO of Matson. “We are committed to helping meet community needs in the way we know best—by getting much needed basic sustenance supplies delivered as quickly and efficiently as possible.”
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Jim Baldwin, CEO of Food Bank of Alaska, says, “During the last year, the Food Bank of Alaska required forty-five containers of food to keep up with the demand. We estimate that an additional ten containers will be needed in 2021 as we plan to move into a larger facility and continue to meet the needs of the community.
“We are extremely grateful to have the support of Matson for so many years, and this renewed commitment provides a tremendous relief of our shipping needs in the future.”
Cox adds, “While we are all hopeful that vaccines and new treatments will begin to make a difference in 2021, it’s clear that the pandemic’s effects on many local families could be long-lasting. We are committing to support our food banks for the next three years in order to help them maximize their capacity to help families recover.”
Matson provides domestic containership service from Tacoma twice weekly to Anchorage and Kodiak, weekly service to Dutch Harbor, and seasonal international service to Asia from Dutch Harbor for Alaska’s seafood industry. Detailed service schedules and other information about Matson is available online at Matson.com.
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