Jeff Bezos gives $100M to Feeding America amid coronavirus pandemic

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is donating $100 million to Feeding America, a nonprofit that runs a network of more than 200 food banks across the country. 

The billionaire said the organization will distribute the funds to food banks across the U.S. to help families in need amid the coronavirus pandemic. 

“Even in ordinary times, food insecurity in American households is an important problem, and unfortunately COVID-19 is amplifying that stress significantly,” Bezos said in an Instagram post. 

He added that food banks and patients often rely on surplus food from a range of businesses, including restaurants, many of which have shut down in response to the outbreak. 

“To make matters worse, as supply is dwindling, demand for food bank services is going up,” Bezos wrote. 

He also encouraged others to donate funds of any size if possible.

Amazon has faced some pushback for its handling of the coronavirus pandemic at its facilities. 

An Amazon employee, Christian Smalls, organized a walkout at a Staten Island warehouse Monday over the company’s decision to keep the facility open after a worker tested positive for COVID-19. 

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and New York Attorney General Letitia James have called for an investigation into the Small’s dismissal. 

“The allegation is because he spoke up for the safety of his fellow workers, he was fired. I have ordered the city’s Commission on Human Rights to investigate Amazon immediately to determine if that’s true,” de Blasio said during a Tuesday press conference. “If so, that would be a violation of our city human rights law, and we would act on it immediately.”

Amazon officials previously told The Hill that Smalls “is alleging many misleading things” and said that the company had “tripled down on cleaning” its facilities amid the pandemic. 

Updated 5:44 p.m.