$600 Million in Giving Surpassed on 40th Anniversary of Newman’s Own, the Pioneering Purpose-Driven Brand

Newman’s Own Foundation Helps Kids Who Face Adversity, Carrying on Actor Paul Newman’s Inspiring Legacy

WESTPORT, Conn., Dec. 8, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Newman’s Own Foundation, the private foundation created by Paul Newman to carry on his legacy of giving away 100% of profits from Newman’s Own food and beverages, is leaning into its new mission and giving strategy to nourish and transform the lives of kids who face adversity. Today, the Foundation announced that, with its latest distributions, more than $600 million has been given to great causes since 1982. Since sharing earlier this year that it will concentrate its giving on supporting kids facing adversity, the Foundation has been focused on elevating the work of longstanding partners while engaging new organizations, bringing joy to seriously ill children and improving nutrition security for children in schools and Indigenous communities in the U.S.

This year, Newman’s Own Foundation provided funding to 272 different organizations, including SeriousFun Children’s Network, the world’s leading network of medical specialty camps and programs serving children with serious illnesses and their families; FoodCorps, an organization advocating for a future in which every child has access to food education and nourishing food in school; and Safe Water Network, which ensures low resource communities have access to a sustainable supply of safe water. In November, Newman’s Own Foundation distributed grants to 39 new grantees that are advancing childhood nutrition security in schools and for Indigenous youth, including Greater Newark Conservancy, Inc., Groundwork Center for Resilient Communities, Inc., California Indian Museum & Cultural Center, Feed Seven Generations, and Sicangu Community Development Corporation. The Foundation also provided support to organizations that work with foster children and children’s mental health.

“Paul Newman believed that when you see the right thing to do, you better do it,” said Miriam E. Nelson, PhD, president and CEO of Newman’s Own Foundation. “By supporting kids who face adversity, including in Indigenous communities where funding is low, Newman’s Own can help more kids at a critical moment in time and develop and scale sustainable solutions for long-term impact.”

To identify innovators in nutrition security, Newman’s Own Foundation issued two requests for grant proposals (RFPs) this summer. According to Faith Fennelly, director of philanthropy at Newman’s Own Foundation, “One RFP built on the work of longstanding partner FoodCorps to improve nutrition security in schools at the national level, with a concentration on smaller scale coalitions and organizations doing work at the state level. The other built on a decade of progressive work supporting Indigenous youth. We sought out early- and mid-stage social entrepreneurs leading innovative organizations in communities with great need for access to affordable, nutritious, and culturally relevant food.”

Today, more than 34 million children in the U.S. face at least one significant adverse childhood experience, including severe or chronic health conditions, poverty, and nutrition insecurity, and the need has grown with the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2019, the overall food insecurity rate for kids was the lowest it had been in more than 20 years, yet nearly 11 million children were still food insecure. Those numbers rose again by several million over the last two years.

Legendary actor Paul Newman was committed to helping make the world a better place. To carry on his philanthropic legacy, he created Newman’s Own Foundation in 2005 to continue giving away 100% of profits from Newman’s Own, Inc., food and beverages, something he had been doing since founding the company in 1982. The private foundation is funded by the profits and royalties generated by the sale of Newman’s Own food and beverage products. As of 2022, Newman’s Own has donated more than $600 million to good causes, especially to kids who face adversity.