Leonardo DiCaprio has teamed up with Oprah Winfrey to raise $15 million to keep poor Americans fed during the coronavirus pandemic.
Millions of U.S. citizens are facing hardship due to the economic shock caused by the virus and lockdown measures brought in to stop its spread.
On Thursday (April 2, 2020), DiCaprio announced that he and Steve Jobs’ widow Laurene Powell Jobs have launched America’s Food Fund to raise money to provide meals for low-income families, unemployed people, and the elderly – with their first charitable partners the World Central Kitchen and Feeding America organizations.
In a statement to the Associated Press, The Revenant star said: “In the face of this crisis, organizations like World Central Kitchen and Feeding America have inspired us all with their unwavering commitment to feed the most vulnerable people in need. I thank them for their tireless work on the frontlines, they deserve all of our support.”
According to the organization’s GoFundMe page, DiCaprio and Powell Jobs have donated $5 million combined, one-third of the fund’s $15 million goal, with Oprah chipping in $1 million, the Apple corporation contributing an additional $5 million and the Ford Foundation giving $1 million. At the time of the announcement, the fund had raised just under $12.3 million.
In addition to chipping in $1 million, Oprah helped announce plans for the fund by talking to chef Jose Andres and Feeding America CEO Claire Babineaux-Fontenot on her Apple+ series Oprah Talks COVID-19.
On Twitter, she also revealed that overall she will be donating $10 million to charitable organizations trying to help Americans hit hard by the pandemic.
