On March 16, Goya Foods donated 1,000,000 pounds of Goya food products (that’s one million pounds, folks), to emergency food providers in communities across the country. Goya worked closely with the United Way of New York City, which led the way in coordinating the food distribution, both in New York City and nationwide, to emergency food sites, soup kitchens and food pantries. (Twitter fans, find them @unitedwaynyc)

Goya joins an ever-increasing cadre of food-related companies embracing a higher sense of social responsibility by giving back to the communities they serve and by supporting the fight for better nutrition and hunger relief. (Folks like Tyson Foods, ConAgra, Sysco, and Whole Foods Market immediately come to mind). Goya’s initial donation of that one million pounds of food to soup kitchens and food pantries across the country was in celebration of their 75^th anniversary.

They’ve also launched the Goya Gives campaign, in partnership with United Way, to encourage people to join in the fight against hunger and promote better nutrition through social media. For 75 days, from March 16^th to May 29^th, the public can, via the Goya Gives website, contribute recipes, photos and stories of sharing low-cost, nutritious meals with friends or neighbors in need. And in an inspired bit of “community building,” participants can also share via the web site their “Goya Gives” status with their friends on Facebook and Twitter.  In addition, the public can make direct monetary donations to United Way to help fund the organization’s mission to prevent hunger and promote better nutrition in communities across America.