General Mills making $5 million donation to food banks nationwide

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Golden Valley-based General Mills announced Friday it will "manufacture to donate" $5 million worth of products to Feeding America and its network of 200 food banks nationwide.

"Traditionally this time of year we would have manufacturing plants that would have a whole lot of cup cereal and whole grain items produced for K-12 schools," said General Mills Foundation Executive Director Nicola Dixon. "Those lines right now are not fully utilized due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They were perfect candidate to consider at this time based on their nutritional value and their packaging."

In response to the urgent need for both food donations and volunteers, General Mills will manufacture $5 million worth of product to immediately donate to @FeedingAmerica and launch a paid community service program for employees. Learn more: https://t.co/eSBv8nvNws #COVID19 pic.twitter.com/ecHUNmYsd9

— General Mills (@GeneralMills) April 17, 2020

Employees will continue to work in plants manufacturing those items, including the General Mills plant in Chanhassen. 

Along with the donations, General Mills has set-up a program aimed at filling volunteer opportunities with their own employees who may have the time to fill during the pandemic.

"While in some cases, some employees are working harder than ever and longer hours than ever, there are some employees because of the role they play have extra bandwidth at this time," she said. "These employees have stepped up and asked about helping out at different organizations who need it."

General Mills is partnering with Catholic Charities, The Food Group, Help at Your Door, Loaves and Fishes, and Second Harvest Heartland to fill sign-up volunteer spots with General Mills employees.

"We were able to work with the charities to define projects that adhere to the social distancing guidelines," she said. "Some of these projects are in-person and some of them are remote...they will still receive their regular compensation and benefits from General Mills during this time, nothing will change."