In the run-up to the annual USPS Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive on May 9, and World Hunger Day on May 28, REIT.com is showcasing how some Nareit members are channeling their expertise, tapping their employee networks, and upholding philanthropic commitments to their communities to help combat food insecurity.
According to the latest USDA figures, 13.7% (18.3 million) of U.S. households were food insecure at some time during 2024. The number of food insecure households with children is even higher, at 18.4%—making the efforts of REITs and others to address the issue especially important.
REITs know that when people and communities thrive, everyone benefits—creating lasting value and fueling innovation. Through responsible business practices, REITs are meeting the needs of their workforce, tenants, and neighbors, helping to build vibrant places where communities can flourish.
Americold
For former grocer and current Americold Realty Trust (NYSE: COLD) President, Americas, Bryan Verbarendse, three key factors determine whether someone lives in food insecurity: supply, affordability, and access.
In the United States, constraints on food supply are not an issue, he says, so affordability is really the next area where impact can be made. “A lot of that has to do with, can we make a really efficient food supply chain that works in a way that can help minimize the expense to get food into communities and into locations where they need it,” he says. “I think we do a good job as an industry in that space.”
Regarding the third pillar, accessibility, Verbarendse says that’s where Americold’s expertise really comes into play. Not only does the REIT have hundreds of locations across the world where it is embedded in communities, but it also has the necessary temperature-controlled infrastructure to move goods quickly to where they are needed, while maintaining food quality and reducing spoilage.
Those structural attributes ensure that Americold is well-placed to lend assistance in areas where its expertise is most needed.
Within its local communities, Americold holds numerous “giving back” events, always focusing on food and hunger “because our employees know so much about what it takes to make sure food is safe and that it's handled well,” Verbarendse says, with efforts often combining hands-on volunteerism with the company’s logistics expertise to support food distribution.
The REIT has a 10-year relationship with Feed the Children, providing it with financial assistance as well as logistics services and storage to help support their mission of alleviating food insecurity, particularly for school-aged children and communities where school lunch and after-school programs are closed during summer break.
This includes support for initiatives such as Feed the Children’s “Feed and Read” program in Fulton County, Atlanta; Resource Rallies across the U.S.; and a “No Kid Goes to Bed Hungry” campaign, which are often executed by Americold associates. During the length of the partnership, Americold has helped with transporting over two million pounds of food via its logistics operations.
Beyond Americold’s Feed the Children partnership, regional teams also work with numerous other food banks and charity organizations in their immediate areas that support those suffering from food insecurity.
Verbarendse points to advances in infrastructure as vital to the REIT’s role in helping address food access. “Refrigeration has dramatically changed how the food supply chain has evolved, and unlocked the ability to transport and keep safe really nutritious food across a 12-month time cycle,” he says.
Yet despite these advances, the existence of ‘food deserts’ that lack retail outlets creates distinct challenges in terms of getting refrigerated food to the end user. Through its work with the USDA, Americold supports federal food distribution efforts by providing storage, transportation, and logistics services as part of its core operations, including helping bring food into one such food desert—native communities. “We have really good relationships with those local native organizations; we work directly in shipping that product in,” Verbarendse says.
Verbarendse stresses that Americold’s ability to give back to its communities has been made possible by the REIT’s dedication to creating an infrastructure network that ensures the seamless distribution and delivery of food to all corners of the country and beyond.
“Positioning infrastructure close to both food production and demand, and having a network that allows you to do that, really is one of the big ways we impact food distribution throughout the world,” he says. “And that has a direct and lasting impact on trying to address food insecurity.”