United Airlines Donates $1 Million to Feeding America's Shutdown Response Fund

CHICAGO, Jan. 25, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- United Airlines announced today that in response to Feeding America's increased need for support as a result of the government shutdown, the airline is donating $1 million to the organization's Shutdown Response Fund. This donation will directly support the food banks that are providing food for families of federal workers, who need assistance following their loss of income.

"On behalf of the United family, I would like to thank the countless federal employees who have made a large sacrifice to ensure our safety despite not being paid, and we hope this contribution provides them much-needed support. Even with today's announcement, there is continued need among federal employees, in addition to the important programs that Feeding America administers," said Oscar Munoz, chief executive officer of United Airlines. "We continue to urge our leaders to work in a bipartisan way over the coming weeks to ensure the long-term certainty on which our industry and the overall economy depends."

"Feeding America is thankful to our long-time partner, United Airlines, for stepping up, yet again, to help families in need. Even after the government is re-opened, many hardworking families will likely suffer the lingering impact of this crisis," said Claire Babineaux-Fontenot, chief executive officer of Feeding America. "This donation will support Feeding America member food banks as they provide immediate and longer-term assistance to people impacted by the furlough as they get back on their feet in the coming months."       

Today's announcement builds on United's ongoing efforts to support the federal workers who work side-by-side with the United team every day to get customers where they need to go safely and on time. This includes working with Feeding America member food banks to set up and provide food distribution centers at United's seven hub airports and New York's LaGuardia Airport, and distributing care packages to federal employees twice a week throughout February. United will continue to work with Feeding America and other charitable partners to assess expanding support if and where it is needed.

About United

United Airlines and United Express operate approximately 4,800 flights a day to 353 airports across five continents. In 2018, United and United Express operated more than 1.7 million flights carrying more than 158 million customers. United is proud to have the world's most comprehensive route network, including U.S. mainland hubs in Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Newark/New York, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. United operates 770 mainline aircraft and the airline's United Express carriers operate 559 regional aircraft. The airline is a founding member of Star Alliance, which provides service to 193 countries via 28 member airlines. For more information, visit united.com, follow @United on Twitter or connect on Facebook. The common stock of United's parent, United Continental Holdings, Inc., is traded on the Nasdaq under the symbol "UAL".

About Feeding America

Feeding America® is the largest hunger-relief organization in the United States. Through a network of 200 food banks and 60,000 food pantries and meal programs, we provide meals to more than 46 million people each year. Feeding America also supports programs that prevent food waste and improve food security among the people we serve; educates the public about the problem of hunger; and advocates for legislation that protects people from going hungry. Individuals, charities, businesses and government all have a role in ending hunger. Donate. Volunteer. Advocate. Educate. Together we can solve hunger. Visit www.feedingamerica.org, find us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.

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SOURCE United Airlines