March 16, 2020 – The Howard G. Buffett Foundation today announced a commitment of up to $1,000,000 to address food and medical resource needs in support of Macon County’s emergency response to the coronavirus outbreak. Howard G. Buffett, Chairman and CEO of the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, will work in concert with the Crisis Communication team, led by Decatur Mayor Julie Moore Wolfe and Macon County Board Chairman Kevin Greenfield, and comprised of area health leaders.
“Rural areas like Macon County are likely to experience delayed effects from this global pandemic but when we do, it will be when state and federal resources are the most stretched,” said Buffett. “We need to be mobilizing all of our local government and community support services immediately to anticipate those effects and secure the resources we need to mitigate the impact on our community. The goal of our Foundation’s commitment is to fill in the gaps and augment the resources that will be available as part of the state and federal response. As a community, we especially need to ensure we are prepared to support kids who depend on free and reduced breakfast and lunch programs if public schools close and the elderly in our community who are most at risk from exposure to the virus.”
The Foundation’s commitment will target two areas of support: (1) supporting food aid to community residents who cannot afford or who cannot access the food they need during mandated self-quarantines or social distancing policies; and (2) ensuring that local healthcare providers have the critical supplies they need to meet the medical care demands the crisis might bring. “We really appreciate the resources the Howard G. Buffett Foundation is providing for Decatur and Macon County,” said Kevin Greenfield Chairman of the Macon County Board. “These are unprecedented times, and I have every confidence that we will get through this together. I just want to express my gratitude to Howard and others who have stepped forward to help.”
The Resource Taskforce appointed by Mayor Wolfe, will also include Chairman Greenfield, Debbie Bogle from the United Way, and Tanya Andricks from Crossing Healthcare. “Our community rises to its very best when we are confronted by crisis, and we are extremely grateful for the support from Mr. Buffett to help us meet the needs of our most vulnerable,” said Mayor Wolfe. The Foundation will publicly share the details of how funds will be allocated as they are identified and committed.
