Story ID: 
Wheels Up Launches 'Meals Up' Covid-19 Response
By: Curt Epstein
Caption: Private aviation operator Wheels Up has pledged along with its members to provide 10 million meals through food charity Feeding America.
Word Count: 223
Private aviation provider Wheels Up has partnered with its brand ambassador, Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson, and hunger relief organization Feeding America on Meals Up, a new initiative that will supply 10 million meals for those facing hunger during the Covid-19 crisis.

Feeding America has established an extensive network of food banks across the country over the past four decades, and for the 37 million Americans who experience food insecurity on a daily basis, as well as those facing the prospect of quarantine, layoffs, and lost wages, the Covid-19 pandemic will mean an increased reliance on and demand for those local food banks.

Wheels Up, along with several of its high-profile ambassadors/members, has already contributed seven million meals through the charity, on its way to the target 10 million. CEO Kenny Dichter, in an interview late last week on CNBC, referenced President John F. Kennedy’s historic “Ask not what your country and do for you, ask what you can do for your country” speech in urging his fellow CEOs and entrepreneurs to step up and lend their assistance during this time of national emergency.

He also offered the services of his company's aircraft to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo to transport volunteer medics wherever they might be needed.