Lesaffre and Red Star Yeast, part of the global Lesaffre group, provide superior quality yeast and ingredients to bakers. The companies are looking to provide additional support during the coronavirus pandemic, in the form of charitable donations to food banks.

Because the pandemic has led to record rates of unemployment and has increased pressure on local communities, Lesaffre and Red Star Yeast have announced that they are making charitable food donations worth $100,000 to food banks, starting with the cities where the company operates: Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Dothan, Ala.; and Milwaukee, Wis.

Each week during the month of May, Red Star will donate $2,000 worth of bread or other needs to each local food bank including, Linn Community Food Bank, Wiregrass Area Food Bank and Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin. As a partner to the baking industry, Lesaffre and Red Star is also supporting bakers who are struggling due to the pandemic through this effort. The bread being donated to the food pantries is being purchased from local bakers facing decreased sales. 

“When we heard that bread was in need, our teams came up with the idea of purchasing bread from local retail bakers who are suffering as restaurants and small shops are closed in response to COVID-19,” says Tom Benner, president and chief executive officer of Red Star. “With this program, our teams are proud to be helping people in need and businesses in our hometowns.”