MrBeast has responded to criticism questioning why he doesn’t do more philanthropic work in his hometown of Greenville, North Carolina, pointing to the millions of meals his nonprofit has distributed in the area.
The YouTube star, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, has become known for large-scale philanthropic projects around the world through Beast Philanthropy. His latest project saw him spend nearly $10 million building a village in Ghana aimed at helping prevent illegal child labor.
The project includes a school, homes for teachers, a medical clinic, clean water infrastructure, solar power, agricultural facilities, and other resources for the community. However, the scale of the project prompted one X user to question why Donaldson wasn’t doing more closer to home.
MrBeast responds to criticism over Greenville philanthropy
“I wonder why MrBeast doesn’t do more for his hometown of Greenville, North Carolina, where the poverty rate is 25% (more than double the national average)?” the user wrote.
MrBeast responded directly to the post, saying his philanthropic efforts already include significant work in Greenville and elsewhere in the US.
“I literally do. I have a 501c non profit and have distributed 10s of MILLIONS of meals in America, many in my local community,” he wrote. “If I listed all the philanthropic things we do locally I literally wouldn’t be able to fit it in this tweet.”
Donaldson founded Beast Philanthropy, a nonprofit based in Greenville. One of its flagship programs is the Beast Pantry, which began operating in late 2020 as food insecurity increased in the area.
According to Beast Philanthropy, the pantry started with a warehouse in Greenville and has since expanded through a hub-and-spoke distribution model serving more than 20 communities across Eastern North Carolina, including areas without traditional food pantries.
The organization says the Beast Pantry currently distributes around 80,000 meals each month to local families. Since its launch, the pantry and its food rescue partners have distributed more than 60 million pounds of food, equivalent to more than 48 million meals.
Beast Philanthropy has also partnered with food rescue organizations to expand distribution beyond North Carolina, including programs in Pennsylvania and New York.
The nonprofit describes Beast Pantry as a permanent program rather than a limited campaign, calling it a “long-term commitment” to the community where Donaldson grew up and where the MrBeast team continues to operate.
The criticism came just days after MrBeast unveiled what he described as his largest humanitarian build to date, spending nearly $10 million to construct Abna Dakwa Village in Ghana.
The project took a year of development and eight months of construction, creating a school for more than 300 students, 10 homes for teachers, a medical clinic, clean drinking water, solar power, and a community marketplace. Students will also receive free daily meals for the next five years as part of an effort to keep children in school rather than working on cacao farms.
