The coronavirus pandemic is affecting tens of thousands of people in profound ways, including loss of work and a lack of medical care and food supplies. The outbreak has had a significant impact on the most vulnerable populations, including the elderly and children.



If you want to help out, here is a list of local, national, and international organizations that are working to ensure food, aid, and medical supplies are delivered to those who need it.

Feeding America: This organization helps feed communities and individuals facing hunger across the United States through a nationwide network of food banks.

Donate here.

No Kid Hungry: With coronavirus forcing mass school closures across the country, millions of children are losing the daily meals they depend on. No Kid Hungry uses donations to send emergency grants to food banks and local community groups. It diverts resources to feed kids in the hardest-hit communities. The organization also has plans in place to ensure families know how to find food while schools are closed and making sure kids get three meals a day.

Donate here.

Meals on Wheels: This organization delivers meals to the country’s elderly population. Many of its local programs are struggling with the additional costs of delivering meals during the outbreak. You can find ways to help a local program here or donate to the national organization here.

NYC organizations: You can donate to several New York City–based food relief organizations that are working to ensure meals are delivered to the city's elderly population or those who are too sick to cook or shop for food. Citymeals is taking donations to ensure “every one of our homebound elderly neighbors in need has nourishing meals during this dangerous outbreak.” This GoFundMe is raising money on behalf of Food Bank for New York City, which will help adults and children in the city who are most affected by the outbreak. God’s Love We Deliver, a nonsectarian organization that prepares and delivers "nutritious and medically tailored meals" to people living with illnesses, is looking for both volunteers as well as donations to sponsor their emergency meal bags of “shelf-stable food” to their clients.

The Seattle Foundation: This coalition of philanthropic, business, and government partners has started a COVID-19 Response Fund that will deploy resources to community-based organizations at the forefront of the coronavirus relief efforts in the Puget Sound region in Washington. It will provide grants to fund organizations that are helping residents without health insurance or access to sick days, health care and gig economy workers, and communities of color. It will help address the immediate needs of economically vulnerable populations affected by closures and cancellations.

Donate here.



The CDC Foundation: This nonprofit organization for the CDC is raising funds to help respond to the public health threat when federal and state funding is not available. The foundation said it will use the funds to support state and local health departments in the US as well as support the global response including logistics, personal protective equipment, and critical response supplies.

Donate here.

The American Red Cross: As the number of coronavirus cases increases in the US, the number of people eligible to give blood and platelets for patients in need could decrease further, the Red Cross said. The organization is urging all eligible, healthy donors to donate blood and platelets to help maintain a sufficient blood supply flow and avoid potential shortages.

Make an appointment here.

Center for Disaster Philanthropy: This US-based organization is supporting local nonprofits in areas with a high number of affected individuals and vulnerable populations to help them support hourly wage earners, gig economy workers, immigrant populations, older adults, people with disabilities, and other communities vulnerable to the physical, mental, and economic impacts of the pandemic.

Donate here.

GoFundMe: This fundraising site has started a general relief fund to directly support those affected by the pandemic and organizations working to keep people safe, find a cure, or support their communities. GoFundMe will distribute donations made to this campaign and other verified campaigns and to aid such organizations.

Donate here.

Save the Children: This international organization is helping to protect vulnerable children and families by training health teams across the world on protection and prevention. The organization is supplying personal protective equipment and other supplies to help health staffers on the front lines of fighting the outbreaks.

Donate here.



UNICEF: The United Nations Children's Fund is sending supplies and support to save and protect vulnerable children affected by the coronavirus.

Donate here.

GlobalGiving: Donations to this US-based organization’s coronavirus relief fund will help local organizations in affected areas meet immediate needs for health care, food, and water and transition to longer-term education and recovery efforts.

Donate here.

There’s a lot we still don’t know about the coronavirus outbreak. Our newsletter, Outbreak Today, will do its best to put everything we do know in one place — you can sign up here. Do you have questions you want answered? You can always get in touch. And if you're someone who is seeing the impact of this firsthand, we’d also love to hear from you (you can reach out to us via one of our tip line channels).

