Dunkin’ Donates $1.25 Million for Hunger Relief, Celebrates Franchisees’ Efforts Locally

Dunkin’ announces today that $1.25 million in emergency funding, made available by its Dunkin’ Joy in Childhood Foundation in March, has been granted to health and hunger relief organizations throughout the country.

The Foundation was inundated with grant applications and was able to quickly overnight $100,000 in grants to needy food banks and community-based food providers. The grants are funding vital services such as emergency food boxes and meal kits for families, backpacks for children displaced from school, and food and water for families in shelters.

According to Ilene Isaacs, Executive Director of Table to Table, “The Dunkin’ Joy in Childhood Foundation has been a leader in quickly assessing the emergency needs COVID-19 has created in our local communities. Without an extensive procedure that would tap the already overtaxed resources of non-profit staffs, the Dunkin’ Joy in Childhood Foundation awarded funding that is helping us serve the people who are now in the greatest need. This emergency grant enables us to provide the food for 100,000 fresh, healthy meals for the families who are struggling throughout northeast New Jersey.”

From the start of the pandemic, Dunkin’ has supported the heroes on the frontlines of the coronavirus (COVID-19) response. Through its Foundation, the company has provided financial assistance and resources critically needed in local communities, while Dunkin’s franchisees, all of whom are independent businesspeople, have stepped up in meaningful ways to meet the unique needs of their neighborhoods and the people they serve.

“The heroic people and organizations keeping this country running during such an uncertain time can count on Dunkin’ to have their backs,” said Scott Murphy, President, Dunkin’ Americas. “Through the power of our Foundation and the commitment of our franchisees to give back to the neighborhoods where they live and work, Dunkin’ will continue to support our guests, our communities and the heroes making daily sacrifices on the front lines of the COVID-19 fight.”

A few examples include:

Lou and Julie Cabral are assisting school-aged children who may not know where their next meal will come from by offering them a free drink, sandwich and donut at their nine Dunkin’ shops in Richmond, Va.

In Massachusetts, Jim and Stephanie Allen are delivering complimentary meals to elderly customers who live across the street from one restaurant.

Jerry Fives has turned the dining room of one of his restaurants into a sewing room where his employees are sewing face masks for the local senior center in Dickson City, Pa.

In San Diego, franchisee Tali Burton is recognizing medical staff and first responders with free beverages, and he has donated coffee and donuts to the California Highway patrol to bring to local healthcare facilities.

Dunkin’ this week launched an online gift card site, DunkinCoffeeBreak.com, so that guests can send a Dunkin’ e-gift card as a small token of appreciation to thank a doctor, nurse, first responder, teacher, grocery clerk, postal worker, neighbor, or any hero in their life. For every card purchased at this site, Dunkin’ will donate $1, up to $100,000, to the Dunkin’ Joy in Childhood Foundation emergency funds, specifically for non-profits helping families affected by COVID-19.