AT&T and the AT&T Foundation Donate $150,000 for Food Programs for Emergency Medical Personnel & Newark Residents

BEDMINSTER, NJ , Mon. April 20, 2020 — Organizations that are providing meals for New Jersey’s emergency and medical personnel and Newark residents during the COVID-19 crisis are getting support from AT&T and the AT&T Foundation.

As a way to thank medical and emergency personnel – and to support local restaurants in the Garden State – AT&T and the New Jersey Restaurant and Hospitality Association (NJRHA) teamed up to provide meals to personnel working in field hospitals that are set up at the Meadowlands Exposition Center in Secaucus and the New Jersey Convention and Exposition Center in Edison. The AT&T Foundation granted $100,000 to the NJRHA to support the initiative.

“The restaurant industry has been devastated by this pandemic! Having AT&T step up and assist restaurants in the Edison and Secaucus area so that they can feed our first responders at the field hospitals is absolutely amazing. This allows restaurants to do what they do best: feed the community while giving them the financial resources to do so. This also has the added benefit of helping to keep some of our restaurant employees working,” said Marilou Halvorsen, president, NJRHA.

The United Way of Essex and West Hudson’s Community COVID-19 Fund received an additional $50,000, including $35,000 from AT&T and $15,000 from the AT&T Foundation, to provide food and basic needs for impacted residents in Newark.

“AT&T stepped up quickly to support my effort to provide thousands of Newark residents with resources to purchase emergency food and supplies in the early weeks of the COVID-19 crisis,” said Newark Mayor Ras J. Baraka. “In Newark, we are prioritizing partnership and collaboration to take the biggest challenges of the crisis head on, and AT&T has been a vital partner in that effort.”

“One of AT&T’s core values is to be there when people need us,” added Charlene Brown, president, AT&T New Jersey. “We’re glad that we could team up with NJRHA and the United Way to help our neighbors during this time of extraordinary need.”

Brown said the New Jersey contributions are part of a nationwide commitment by AT&T to provide much needed support for first responders, medical personnel and others impacted by COVID-19. The effort kicked off with a $1.5 million contribution to World Central Kitchen, which operates in Newark. We’re also supporting Feeding America, the Salvation Army and Team Rubicon. AT&T will also be collaborating with a host of additional local organizations in communities most impacted by the pandemic. Learn more, including instructions for making individual contributions, by clicking here.

AT&T’s support is part of AT&T Believes℠, a company-wide effort to make a meaningful impact in local communities. To learn more about how AT&T is supporting communities during the current crisis, visit https://about.att.com/pages/COVID-19.html.