Timberlake donates to Mid-south Food Bank
Amid global coronavirus concerns, Justin Timberlake is looking to help locally in Memphis. The Millington native and pop superstar announced he was donating to Mid-south Food Bank and encouraged others to follow suit by aiding their hometown charities.
On Sunday, Timberlake took to his Twitter account, addressing his nearly 65 million followers, by noting he had given an undisclosed amount to Midsouth Food Bank.
“This is a crazy time, but remember we're all in it together,” wrote Timberlake. “Start small and support your local communities by getting food out to those in need. I'm donating to @midsouthfoodbank an organization in my hometown that is helping people assemble and deliver nonperishable food in the Mid-south so families can be prepared to stay at home. Every. little. thing. helps.”
Sunday, Memphis director Craig Brewer (whose latest movie, "Dolemite Is My Name," with Eddie Murphy, is on Netflix) reported on Twitter and Instagram that he, too, had "just made a donation to the @memphisfoodbank. Thanks to @justintimberlake for making the suggestion. Let's help our city take care of those in need over the next few weeks. It was easy to do and you can make a big difference."
Over the years, Timberlake has been an active in supporting Memphis-based causes, donating money and time to local music and music education organizations like the Memphis Music Foundation and Stax Music Academy, as well as St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
Founded in 1981, Midsouth Food Bank is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, and a member of Feeding America, a national network of food banks, dedicated to changing “lives by eliminating hunger in the Mid-south.”
In response to coronavirus shutdowns, Mid-south Food Bank is "assembling food boxes with nonperishable food to help low-income and vulnerable populations,” according to its website.
The boxes — containing 30 pounds of canned and packaged foods — will feed a family for 14 days and are available via their network of partner food pantries in the area. For more information go to Midsouthfoodbank.org.
Timberlake was set to open one of the year's big family films, “Trolls World Tour” next month in theaters. The movie — a sequel to 2016's $350 million grossing “Trolls” — was originally supposed to open on April 17. With the fallout from coronavirus and numerous films being pulled from Hollywood's release schedule the film was moved up to an April 10/Easter weekend release. On Monday, Universal Pictures announced it will make “Trolls World Tour” on-demand digitally starting April 10. The film will be available as a 48-hour rental, with an expected price of $19.99.