With the well-publicized and unprecedented multi-week closure of every single Disney park across the globe in response to coronavirus fears, Disneyland Resort is making good with the closures not just by continuing to pay their Cast Members but also by donating excess food inventory to Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County.
Additional details about the food donations can be found below, courtesy of Disney.
While closely following food safety guidelines, excess inventory of dairy, fruit, vegetables, packaged goods and banquet meals is being donated Second Harvest Food Bank, whose mission is to end hunger in Orange County.
Since 2014, the Disneyland Resort has operated a food donation program through which prepared, unserved food from select locations is regularly donated to support those in need within the local community. This program is in addition to the food scraps diversion program, which also supports our environmental efforts in reducing food waste.
Last year, the Disneyland Resort donated over 20,000 meals to Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County through the food donation program, and Disney VoluntEARS regularly volunteer there, supporting the mission of ending hunger.
UPDATE 3/14, 6pm:
A day after the Disneyland Resort announcement, Walt Disney World announced a similar donation to Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida.
To help other Central Floridians in need during this time, Walt Disney World Resort will donate excess food inventory like fresh salads, greens and expertly cooked hot items to the Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida, as part of the ongoing Disney Harvest program. Launched in 1991, Disney Harvest collects excess and unserved food from locations throughout Walt Disney World, delivering it to feeding programs across Central Florida.
What you might not know…the Disney Harvest Program at Walt Disney World Resort collects and distributes more than 823,000 pounds of prepared, unserved food annually and supports Second Harvest’s work serving more than 40 Orlando-area nonprofits. In the last year alone, these donations provided one million meals to people in need.
Walt Disney World’s longstanding support of Second Harvest Food Bank also includes monetary contributions and ongoing Disney VoluntEARS efforts, where Cast Members donate their time to collect, sort and distribute food donations. The organization is also the celebrated charity of the runDisney Wine and Dine Half Marathon Weekend, held each November, donating and distributing extra food from post-race snack boxes to those in need.
