newsroom. you see a little shaking there. did you feel it? >> i felt it right here in the studio. i was talking to our production assistant. did you feel that? it was a jolt. we'll continue to follow this and will have updates at 7:25. thanks for watching us this morning. ♪ ♪ good morning. help arrives. the nation's vaccine rollout expanding across the country this morning. the first shots given to health care workers on the front line. >> it's an emotional and exciting day. there is a light at the end of the tunnel. >> but that massive effort tempered by the harsh reality of the pandemic. more than 300,000 covid deaths in america. >> now is not the time to let our guard down. >> just ahead, the next steps in the ambitious mission as we go to florida where some of the first doctors and nurses will be

vaccinated live on our air. turn the page. president-elect joe biden addresses the nation after the electoral college officially seals his victory and takes aim at president trump for refusing to concede. >> it is my sincere hope we never again see anyone subjected to the kind of threats and abuse we saw in this election. it's simply unconscionable. >> this morning biden's call for unity to a divided nation. breaking overnight, early exit. attorney general william barr, one of president trump's staunchest allies, to step down before christmas. this after barr openly disputed the president's claims of widespread voter fraud in the election. the latest in a live report. monster in the making. one of the most potent winter storms in years takes aim at the east coast. tens of millions on alert from the midwest to the northeast bracing for snow, fierce winds and power outages. al's got the very latest on the

track and the timing. those stories, plus shining a light. millions of americans in need this year struggling to feed their families. >> it is very hard. >> and this morning, we are spreading out across the country, doing our part and sharing the simple ways you can help in this season of giving. today, tuesday, december 15th, 2020. >> announcer: from nbc news, this is "today" with savannah guthrie and hoda kotb, from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. hey, everybody, welcome to "today." so happy that you are joining us on a tuesday morning. this is really a special tuesday morning for us. >> i was going to say i think this show is going to be unlike any we've done before. we've shown you those images, people lining up for food. there is a hunger problem in this country. according to feeding america, 50 million americans, 50 million,

may go hungry this year. this morning, we are on a mission and we want to help. we need you. >> yeah, we do. take a look. we are at food drives in houston, in east hartford, connecticut, in chicago, and we are going to shine a light on those people in need. so many people watch our show after we do the stories of so many people who are hungry and they want to know how can i help. well, today we may have an answer for you. >> we'll get some help from big companies who have wanted to get involved as well, so we think today is going to make a difference. of course the toll of this pandemic has so much to do with the need and that's why it was so encouraging to see this image and that image. people getting the vaccine, the initial doses given to health care workers yesterday. >> indeed. and take a look, some of them were in ohio. we are with some live this morning. kerry sanders, by the way, standing by in florida where we will watch another group get the

vaccination live on the air. but we are going to begin our in-depth coverage with nbc's tom costello in washington. >> reporter: hoda, good morning. so the death toll, 300,000 right and they anticipate giving it emergency authorization. the second vaccine to be in the pipeline as the effort to vaccinate the country really kicks into high gear. this morning, with the pick of a needle, the war against the coronavirus has entered a new phase. front line workers across the country are now receiving the first doses of the pfizer covid vaccine. new york icu nurse sandra lindsey the very first american to get it. >> i'm tired of seeing the hurt, the pain, the suffering and the deaths, and that was why it was really, really important for me to take the vaccine and to do my

part to put an end to this pandemic. >> reporter: because minor side effects can cause some people to miss a day or two of work, hospitals are staggering who gets it when. in dallas, the methodist health system vaccinated more than 100 employees on monday. >> i feel fine and i just want to get back out there and get back into the trenches. >> reporter: at the university of wisconsin med center they're also ready, able to store large volumes of doses in deep cold freezers. >> we expect the vaccine to continue coming through week by week. >> reporter: in ohio, the first doses went to this group of nurses simultaneously. in all, 145 locations received vaccine doses on monday. today even more front line medical workers will be immunized at another 425 sites. next week, vaccinations start at

we're breaking in to tell you there have been two earthquakes in the bay area just before 7:00 at 6:56 an earthquake centered near san martin. our seismograph in the newsroom, you can see the significant shaking, a lot of people reporting it across the bay area having felt it. it was followed shortly thereafter just about a minute later by a 3.6. a lot of people describing it as a gentle rocking, quite a way to wake up this morning. a lot of people are reaching out to me this morning online saying they felt it in the morgan hill, gilroy area. further up in redwood city and san jose. we are continuing to monitor the two quakes hitting the bay area just about a minute apart at 6:58, a 4.0 and at 6:59 a 3.6,

both near san martin this morning. we'll continue to follow this breaking news. you can always follow us on nbcbayarea.com. and we're all on social media with the very latest. now back to the "today" show. nationwide are struggling to keep up with the onslaught of patients. nbc's ann mclaughlin with that part of the story. good morning. >> good morning, savannah. the u.s. added more than 1 million covid cases in just the past six days. here in california, icus are at capacity and resources are stretched so thin. it has health care workers begging the public to do their part and slow the surge as the system is once again pushed to the brink. this morning as health care workers await relief, there's despair and fear about the difficult days to come. >> i don't think any of us would make it through this without each other. >> reporter: in central california, icus are full. doctors and nurses are overwhelmed and getting sick.

>> we have more patients and less people to take care of them. >> reporter: more than 200 of this doctor's colleagues have been infected with covid. hundreds more have been forced to quarantine. his last day off was in november, when he himself was sidelined by the coronavirus. >> we are doing our best. we are certainly trying not to compromise the care, but inadvertently that is possible. >> more people will die because you are overwhelmed. >> yes, more people will die because the whole health care system is overwhelmed. >> reporter: a system running out of space for the sickest patients. nearly 1,000 hospitals nationwide now reporting their icus have hit or exceeded 90% capacity. the entire state of mississippi completely out of icu beds. utah and arizona running dangerously low. this latest surge fueled by restriction rollbacks. cold weather forcing people indoors. and as predicted by experts,

thanksgiving gatherings. dr. fauci talking to savannah shortly after the holiday. >> do you attribute any of this surge that we're seeing in the last couple of days directly to thanksgiving and the travel and the get-togethers that did happen? >> we don't expect to see the full brunt of it between two and three weeks following the thanksgiving. >> reporter: now health officials warning gathering for christmas could have even deadlier consequences. >> i want everybody who's here right now to be here next year for the holidays. >> reporter: last month lindsay fairchild took this photo as she said good-bye to her father from the other side of a glass window. >> i don't think people realize that that's the picture of what it looks like to die from covid in the icu. >> reporter: it was a role reversal the icu nurse never wanted. >> those two nurses at the bedside were the reflection of what i had been doing. seeing my dad in that condition, i just realized people don't get to see this. >> reporter: it's the story behind each of those 300,000 deaths that make the statistics so devastating.

to give you some perspective on those numbers, the u.s. makes up just 4% of the world's population but we account for a quarter of confirmed covid cases and nearly a fifth of the deaths. savannah. >> erin, thank you very much. joining us now, some of the very first health care workers to be vaccinated. dr. mark conroy, dr. megan and an emergency medicine nurse on the staff at ohio state university's wexner medical center. good morning to all of you. thank you for being with us. >> good morning, savannah. thanks for having us. >> my first question is the good doctor's question. how do you feel? does your arm hurt? did you have any side effects from the shot? >> i feel great. i slept like a baby last night it was just the first night of a little bit of relief during this entire pandemic, so i think i felt great >> it was just like getting my flu shot every year. my arm is sore it will get better in the next day and then i'll go back to

being my normal self >> my first question was how do you feel my second question is how do you feel, nate what does it feel like emotionally to know that you've got the vaccine and that we are at a turning point in this pandemic >> it's definitely a very promising and optimistic feeling. we've been battling this as health care workers, as a team, dealing with staff shortages, dealing with a multitude of patients with high acuities due to the coronavirus so knowing there's a vaccine and that we're starting the process of getting everyone vaccinated, especially the health care workers that work with the patients every day, it's a very optimistic feeling and leaves me hopeful for the future. >> dr. conroy, i saw an interview of an e.r. nurse who said i'm so tired of worrying that i might get it or i might get my children infected, my husband infected is there that sense of relief this morning >> i think it's the first step

toward that. certainly i have worried about, you know, getting sick and stranding my family or bringing something home and getting my wife sick at the same time i think this is the first step towards, you know, ending this pandemic and being able to return to a normal family life. >> doctor, what has it been like for all of you what has your experience been during this pandemic >> it's been tough i mean we work a lot of hours. i just got out of the icu for the last couple of weeks and am now back in the emergency room my colleagues are sometimes getting sick and people are having to cover shifts for them. we're seeing and having to have the toughest conversations with families, especially because they can't come visit their loved ones here. it's tough to see that so this is going to be hopefully kind of the start of the end here >> nate, we know that the protection from the vaccine

doesn't go into effect right away, you need two doses but do you think that you'll have a little different approach as we go through these holidays? do you feel like you'll feel a little different >> i think i'll definitely feel a little more hopeful. obviously there's the sad fact that i can't go see my family for the holidays, but knowing that i'm not bringing the virus home to them and putting any of them at risk and knowing that we have many future holidays that we can celebrate together is a very good feeling. so just keeping in mind that the vaccine -- you know, it's going to be process and probably going to take a year to reach the amount of vaccinations that we need across the country. but i think it's worth taking a break this year from the holidays and kind of just self-isolating until we can get this virus more under control. >> that leads me to my next question, doctor we all are elated about this vaccine, yet there is so much work to be done.

what's your message? you're on the front lines every day. what's your message to the public >> i think people are scared about getting the vaccine and i think having all of us as providers who take care of our patients kind of step up and be able to take this vaccine now, i hope it gives some confidence to the people who are at home and wondering if this is something that they're going to do there's data out there, and i kind of want to send the message of do your research, read up on the vaccines, how they studied it, how they tested and what the results were there are a lot of falsehoods that are going to be out there that you need to learn about and hopefully that will get you to get the vaccine. >> i so appreciate you guys coming on this morning i notice you all got your vaccines together. that looked really fun maybe you could do your flu shots together next fall too, what do you think? is this going to be a thing? >> absolutely, i could do that. >> all right, thank you so much. we really appreciate your work on the front lines and we're happy for you. keep us posted

coming up in our next half hour we'll head to florida where another group of health care workers will be getting the vaccine live on our air. we turn now to significant developments in the presidential transition overnight president-elect joe biden addressed the nation after the electoral college formalized his victory and denounced the president's attacks on the process. we've learned a key member of the trump administration will be leaving his post several weeks early. we have two reports from our white house team starting with nbc's kristen welker hey, kristen, good morning. >> reporter: hoda, good morning to you president-elect joe biden travels to georgia today to campaign for the two democratic candidates ahead of the senate runoff races there which will determine the balance of power in the senate. it comes after biden aimed to set the record straight in his speech overnight defending the integrity of the election, his victory, and delivering his most forceful condemnation yet of president trump. hours after the electoral college made his win official, president-elect joe biden unleashing a scathing attack

against president trump for trying to overturn the election. >> the flame of democracy was lit in this nation a long time ago. we now know nothing, not even a pandemic or an abuse of power can extinguish that flame. >> reporter: in a point-by-point takedown, biden explaining why the president's claims of widespread fraud are false. >> it's a position so extreme we've never seen it before a position that refused to respect the will of the people, refused to respect the rule of law and refused to honor our constitution. >> reporter: according to an nbc news count, the trump campaign and republicans filed 56 legal challenges 50 of those have been denied, dismissed or withdrawn so far no court has found a single instance of election fraud. biden stressing that he won 306 electoral votes, the same number

mr. trump received in 2016 when he called that win a landslide. >> respecting the will of the people is at the heart of our democracy. even if we find those results hard to accept. >> reporter: earlier in the day electors gathered in every state across the country to affirm biden's victory in the electoral college. >> 16 electoral votes on the what of state of georgia for joseph r. biden. >> all 38 votes for president donald j. trump for president om reportedly writing in part, i am red for interaction and contacts with you on january 6th, congress will officially count those electoral votes with biden expected to be sworn in as the 46th president two weeks later. >> so kristen, the road ahead, the united states of america. >> reporter: and notably arizona electors cast their state's 11 votes from an undisclosed

location due to ongoing threats and security concerns. overnight russian president vladimir putin finally acknowledging biden's victory, congratulating him in a telegram, reportedly writing in part i am ready for interaction and contacts with you. >> so, kristen, the road ahead, is that it is there any other legal challenge the president can mount? >> reporter: well, look, savannah, even if they file more legal briefs, this is effectively game over for president trump. something that even some of his closest allies privately acknowledge. one of president trump's top aides, stephen miller, has publicly said the president's supporters will send their own electors to congress in january but that won't change anything first, there's no way to officially present an alternative slate of electors. even if there were, it would take a vote of both the house and senate to accept those votes. that's not going to happen with democrats in control of the house and adding to all of this, savannah, a growing number of republican senators now acknowledge biden will be the next president savannah. in the meantime just moments after the electoral college confirmed joe biden's victory, the president took to twitter and announced his attorney general, william barr, will be stepping down next week. nbc's chief white house correspondent hallie jackson is on that story.

>> reporter: savannah, good morning. this is an early exit for somebody who's been one of the president's long-time loyalists. the resignation letter packed with praise for president trump, after their relationship recently turned tense, you'll remember, when barr publicly broke with his boss saying so far he has not seen voter fraud that could have affected the outcome of the election. multiple sources familiar with the president's thinking tell us he has been fuming since then, but a white house official now insists barr was not pushed out, that he resigned of his own accord still, before this month and for most of his tenure, the attorney general was a fierce defender of his boss and the president seemed to acknowledge that in his tweet announcing barr's departure, saying he's done an outstanding job. barr's last day is december 23rd and the deputy attorney general will step in until the incoming biden administration takes over. savannah. >> hallie jackson from washington thank you. all eyes on that big winter storm making its way to the eastern u.s. mr. roker happens to be in east hartford, connecticut, because

he's gearing up for our season of giving food drive talk to us about the storm, al. >> yeah, guys, this is rentschler field where uconn plays football but this big storm, it's a monster. right now it's causing problems in the central plains and the rockies where we've got winter storm watches and warnings this thing will move to the east 63 million people all told are under winter storm watches, advisories or warnings that system comes out of the rockies and the plains today snow for kansas and oklahoma it quickly makes its way to the east, transferring energy to a coastal system tomorrow morning. it makes its way up the coast, bringing snow, rain, high winds. it's going to be a big, big problem. and then it finally lessens by thursday afternoon here's what we're looking at as far as the impacts are concerned. we expect to see anywhere from 1 to 3 inches of snow falling per hour blizzard conditions likely we also expect to see upwards of

18 inches of snow in parts of central pennsylvania, 8 to 12 inches from philly to new york to here in hartford, 10 inches of snow in boston and beyond that we've also got wind conditions highest winds will be along the coast. downed trees, power lines, power outages will be a big factor as well this is a developing nor'easter, we'll have to obviously watch the track, guys. but again, it is going to be a major winter storm throughout the northeast and into the new england area right on into thursday morning we'll get to your local forecast coming up in the next 30 seconds.

good tuesday morning. i'm meteorologist kari hall. we're still following that 4.0 magnitude earthquake in the south county and we're getting reports and we're going to have a complete update coming up in about five minutes. as we check out our forecast for today, we're going to see some sunshine. temperatures reaching into the upper 50s. rain returns to the bay area late tomorrow night and moves out of here by early thursday morning. we are going to see dry weather through the rest of the forecast. >> that's your latest weather. guys. >> all right, al, thank you. coming up, kerry sanders gives us a live look inside the largest vaccine effort in u.s. history. hey, kerry. >> reporter: hey there, we're at the university of florida health in jacksonville. these are the frontline workers who are waiting to get jabbed. as we can see right here, one of the head nurses in the covid

unit is getting his inoculation right now. and just behind that partition there, that is where they are preparing the vaccine. it's hidden back there, although we can see it from the other camera the reason is they don't want anything to disturb them as they are preparing to give shots of this most precious resource. guys. >> it's exciting, the day is finally here we'll have more live but first

coming up, we're teaming up with feeding america spread out across the country. >> we're helping out, companies are helping out and we'll show you how you can, too in our communities, through our support of over fourteen hundred hometown charities. in fact, subaru and our retailers will have proudly donated over two hundred million dollars to national and hometown charities through the subaru share the love event. (vo) get 0% for 63 months and subaru will donate 250 dollars to charity.

a galaxy far awaya frgets closer to home. and a low price unlocks a high score. a very good morning to you. it is 7:26. i'm laura garcia. breaking news that we're following for you that tuesday morning. in just the last half hour south bay shaken up by what the usg says were two separate earthquakes about a minute apart. the first quake has now been downgraded to a 3.7. that just coming in to our newsroom. next it was followed by 3.6. both were centered near morgan hill and san martin, hit just before 7:00 a.m. in fact, here is a look at our seismograph we have in our newsroom when it happened. a lot of people felt that shaking. a lot of folks reporting it all the way up the peninsula, even

in our newsroom in san jose. so far no reports of any damage. but there are a lot of people tweeting about it including this one you see here. no wonder my desk at work was rocking and rolling. what a way to wake up for folks. let's check in with meteorologist kari hall. she has a look at our forecast for this tuesday morning. yeah, we're watching what happened there on the calaveras fault and the shaking still happening, still possibly more shaking as we go into the next couple of hours. we'll continue to monitor that. this is how quickly some of the last large earthquakes dates back to about 2007 when we had a 5.6 and we also had in 1984 the morgan hill nmagnitude 6.2. we will monitor it as we go into today. people have been feeling the shaking all across the south bay and even beyond. so as we go through the forecast we'll continue to watch out for

that. as far as what we're expecting, hopefully it's a lot more quiet as we're getting ready for sunshine. cool temperatures but then some rain moves in late tomorrow night. we'll have more updates on the earthquake as well as the rain. laura? all right, sounds good. in a land not so far away, people are saving hundreds on the most reliable

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it's 7:30 now, tuesday morning, the 15th of december. in a year when there are so many people in need, we wanted to do our part do you remember those scenes, people lined up at food banks? folks not knowing where that next meal will come from and that is why this morning we are taking action. we have teamed up with feeding america and we're pitching in at food drives across the country. >> this is in hartford, connecticut, this morning. >> that's actually a live picture. i thought it was a picture from before, but you see people are already lined up for this food drive. i read an interesting statistic this morning 40% of those going to food

drives and food banks this year, have never before used a food bank service that speaks to the need that's so unique in this pandemic so we want to step up in a way we've never done before. we need you. we've gotten our corporate partners we're getting everybody together it's all hands on deck and we're going to start that next half hour. >> we're going to make it really simple and easy for you to give. we'll have this across all four hours. but we are going to start this half hour with more on the coronavirus vaccine rollout. in jacksonville, florida, this morning, our kerry sanders is with some of the first health care workers in the state to get the vaccine. hey, kerry, good morning. >> reporter: well, good morning. this is day two of frontline workers getting the vaccine nationwide here at uf health in jacksonville they began lining up again early this morning, all waiting to get that all-important jab in the arm. this morning health care workers breathing a sigh of relief, as planes, delivery trucks and

government agencies deliver the much-anticipated vaccine to frontline caregivers across the nation new york nurse sandra lindsay the very first person in the u.s. to get the shot >> i felt a huge sense of relief and hope and just that healing is on its way and that we can finally put an end to this pandemic. >> reporter: finally, a defense for those on the front lines, who are exposed to covid every day. >> not only did i get a vaccine, but i got a shot of hope. >> reporter: dr. maggie hagan is an infectious disease specialist in wichita, kansas. >> i see about 50 people with covid every single day i've been an infectious disease specialist over 30 years and never experienced anything like this. >> reporter: for the emotionally exhausted -- >> i can't express the heartache. >> reporter: -- this is a moment to exhale. >> it is the beginning of

something that's going to be very, very positive. >> reporter: health care workers showing those who are hesitant, this is safe. >> i want to be here to serve as an example and to say that this vaccine is safe. i'd rather see you get the vaccine than see you on a breathing machine in the intensive care unit. >> reporter: but stressing for now a vaccine does not replace critical safety measures like social distancing, mask wearing, and thoroughly washing your hands. >> i just hope that the public doesn't give up on doing what they need to do. >> reporter: so, guys, we're now at uf health center here in jacksonville where they're going to give a -- well, we're going to see it live on the air. this is cynthia gerdick. i just want to ask you, first of all, are you anxious >> no, sir, i'm not. >> reporter: you're not anxious? >> no. >> reporter: you've been anxious every day working in the covid ward here? >> i've been anxious every day and all the covid patients we've

been caring about, but being a role model and getting my vaccine is important and that's what i'm doing here this morning. >> reporter: okay. i'm going to just stop for a moment and we're going to put a stop watch up on this because we want to show, it's been incredibly complicated to get this developed, to get it on airplanes, to get it in vehicles, to get it delivered, to have it in the special unit that keeps it cold but this is the quickest part. we're going to start the stop watch. vicki, go ahead. there we go. we stopped the stop watch and it reads, guys -- it felt like seven seconds. six seconds. there we go. did it hurt? >> no, sir. >> reporter: you in your unit have sadly not only seen covid patients die, but you've actually told me that you've had some co-workers who have worked here at the hospital who have had loved ones die emotionally what has this been like for you not only seeing

strangers die, but really friends and relatives die? >> it's been very, very different than any other year in my career. >> reporter: 40-year career. >> 40 plus years it is draining emotionally, not only for our staff but for myself. >> reporter: so this shot represents >> hope. and that we are going to decrease this pandemic. >> reporter: okay, great thank you so much. i know that you now have to sit over there for 15 minutes. they'll check for whether there are any kind of aftereffects vicki will continue. one of the things that's so interesting is they have this vaccine just a short distance away so that they can make sure it maintains the temperature that it needs and then they bring it from there, mix it or they prepare it inside the syringe and then deliver it and it all happens ever so quickly these are the shots being heard

around the world >> of course, it will be a while before the vaccine is widely available to the general public. some people are worried about it obviously this has been on a fast track but as dr. fauci always says, the science has not been on a fast track how about those front line workers, was there any hesitation i saw your patient was ready to go >> reporter: absolutely. look, there is no hesitation at all. you can see the people are here, the other direction there's a long line of people waiting. one of the nurses that i spoke to this morning said we believe in science, that's what we are all about. so of course they believe that this is going to be their protection and they hope, by showing us on the air, live as this happens, that when it finally reaches the general public we will have a sense of confidence that we, too, can get these vaccinations without worry. >> of course they'll be back in a few weeks to get their second shot everybody has got to be reminded to wear those masks and keep your distance and wash your

hands in the meantime. kerry, thank you coming up next, guys, our season of giving we're going to check in with al at the massive food drive in east hartford, connecticut check out the cars lined up this morning. we're going to do our part to help out we hope you will, too, coming up right after this from your walmart store. really fast. really perfect. let's end the year nailing it. ♪ ♪

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we are back. coming up on 7:42 with our big mission this morning it is "today's" season of giving food drive. >> we're focusing on the needs of the 50 million americans who could go hungry this year. there are easy ways we can all help make a difference al is getting us started he's in connecticut this morning. hi, al >> hey, al. >> hey, guys, good morning we are here. this is the connecticut food bank, connecticut food share i'm with jason, the ceo. jason, you guys since april twice a week, you've been serving the hungry here. you've had almost a quarter of a million cars we look at that picture. >> it's incredible. >> and you see the number of people lining up, starting at 6:00 a.m. >> yeah. >> what happens here >> 7.5 million pounds of food we've distributed since april. once we start at 8:30 when the

gates open up, we'll have two lines of distribution. cars will come through they'll get boxes of food. cars will probably drive out of here with about 40 pounds of food in their cars it's a socially distant distribution they don't have to touch anything our volunteers put everything in the cars for them. >> how much of an increase have you seen since the pandemic started? >> in general here in connecticut, we've seen about a 28% to 30% increase in food insecurity just here in the state of connecticut there's about 585,000 people who are food insecure here in connecticut, which is just absolutely incredible. these are numbers we've never seen before. >> we're going to be talking more about this all morning long you guys are doing god's work. >> thank you, al. >> we'll be checking in all morning long again, we're talking about -- this weather is going to impact what happens here at rentschler field. once there's snow, how will they develop all of this? along i-95 we've got what we call highway snow robbery. one side of i-95, you've got colder air and the other side

you're got warmer air. warm ocean air east of i-95, cold air west of i-95 so that has a big impact on the snowfall totals for example, you head down to washington, d.c., right there near the potomac and higher terrain can enhance those snow totals to the west of i-95 so leesburg, virginia, 4 to 8 inches out of this storm 1 to 3 inches in washington, d.c. head up i-95, philadelphia, you're going to be talking about 8 to 12 inches reading almost twice as much and then as we get up into the new york city metro area, new york city we're expecting anywhere from 8 to 12 inches but you get into new jersey, could be upwards of 20 inches. the rest of the country, we are looking at, again, plenty of sunshine here in the east. that is going to change, but we are also looking at another storm out west that's going to bring snow into the pacific northwest. sunny and chilly here up and down the east coast and that's going to be the big differentiator with this storm cold air is in place and that is going to develop a lot of snow that's what's going on around the country, here's what

good morning. i'm meteorologist kari hall. let's take a look at our high temperatures for today. we're reaching into the upper 50s and low 60s and we'll see a mostly sunny sky. by tomorrow we're getting ready for a new round of rain that will arrive by late tomorrow night into early thursday morning and then we go back to our dry weather. it looks like it won't be a really heavy rain but will bring in some beneficial downpours and then going into the weekend once again that dry weather comes back as temperatures warm up. >> that's your latest weather. guys, you know, since april, you saw that line of cars out there that are waiting to come in here they have given -- they have had almost a quarter of a million families and cars come through since april with no end in sight. so that's just here in connecticut. >> wow >> wow the need is great and we're going to try to step up. coming up, al, one of our favorite superstar gymnasts,

simone biles, on this topic. >> she's up early in houston and she is lending a hand with our food drive to help people in her community, one of the many beautiful faces you'll recognize throughout the morning, all teaming up to do some good we love you, simone. we'll talk with her in just a bit, but first these messages. ♪ and never brought to mind ♪ should auld acquaintance be forgot ♪ ♪ and auld lang syne ♪ for auld lang syne, my dear ♪ for auld lang syne ♪ we'll take a cup of kindness yet ♪ ♪ for auld lang syne ♪ we'll take a cup of kindness yet ♪

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welcome back. in just a couple of welcome back in just a couple of minutes we'll be kicking off our "today's" season of food drive. >> a good friend of ours wanted to stop by and share a message oh, just simone biles. >> she's joining us from houston. hey, simone, it's great to see you this morning. >> thank you it's good to see you. home state, where your lines of people who are just desperate for a box of food was going on for miles. just tell me how that impacts >> it impacts me because i feel like since i'm in the houston community and they have given so much to me and supported me so much, i feel like i have to do the same so at the gym we do two food drives we did a thanksgiving one and a christmas one. and we're just trying to help and give back. it's the season of giving and it means everything to us.

>> we know you're focused on your training, but i know i feel this way just walking around new york, i can tell there's such a difference in the community. you can see the need everywhere. have you noticed, simone >> yes, i have it's just crazy, but, you know, it feels amazing to give back to my own community and my city since they have done so much i just don't want anybody to go hungry over the holidays, especially during the pandemic a lot has happened, and it's the one time that we can make everything a little bit easier on them. >> i think it's worth underscoring, simone, your gym where you are training for the olympics is also a place where people -- you and your family and those who donate are giving food out just tell us about the operation you have there >> yes so the gym runs a little bit of a food bank and then we deliver it to the houston food bank, which is one of the biggest in our area and then if you bring two food items, you get one ticket in a

raffle if you bring five, you get two tickets into a raffle just to encourage the kids and the families to bring food so we can go and deliver and make families' days. >> i know you got up early, you've got to train for the olympics, we're counting on you, so get back to the gym. >> thank you, guys. >> good to see your smiling face, simone thank you. it's a good example. just look for little ways. a little adds up to a lot. we'll see that as we shine a light on this important cause. we want everyone to get out their phones because there's going to be a way that you can help and we hope you do. first, your local news and weather. with new flavors. new traditions. and low prices from walmart. let's end the year united. ♪ ...little things... ...can become your big moment. that's why there's otezla. otezla is not a cream. it's a pill that treats plaque psoriasis differently.

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good morning. it is 7:56. i'm laura garcia. here is a look at what is happening now. breaking in the last hour south bay shaken up by what the usgs says were two separate earthquakes just about a minute apart. the first quake was a 3.7. next was a 3.6. now both were centered a few miles northeast of morgan hill hitting just before 7:00 this morning. i believe we have a look at the seismograph as well in our newsroom. this is the jolt of what happened, so far no reports of any damage. people are certainly tweeting about it as well. i asked who felt it out there as well as robert handa. you see a lot of people describing it as a couple of

jolts. what a way to wake up on this tuesday morning. kind of shocking a lot of folks. let's get a check of the forecast as well. meteorologist kari hall, did you feel it? no, not at all but, yeah, a lot of people reaching out on social media. we'll continue to monitor that. now as we check our forecast we are getting ready for more rain that is set to move in late tomorrow night. we are dry today, and we're going to see a few clouds in the mix. but then as we head into tomorrow night our new round of rain comes in. we'll have more updates on that. laura? all right, sounds good. in fact, another local news update coming up in just half an hour. enjoy your tuesday morning.

after months of darkness, we are a nation in need >> there is a growing number of people worried about every single meal. >> demand for food has increased exponentially. >> food pantries have seen the need for services skyrocket. >> this year has been difficult. >> it's hard sometimes they do go to sleep hungry >> this morning "today" shines a light on a crisis at home. more than 50 million americans may go hungry this year. >> if it weren't for these sites, would you be able to get food on the table? >> not really. >> we will share their stories

and those of the helpers doing all they can. >> anybody and everybody that needs food is going to get some of this food. >> we have to give back and put a smile on people's faces. >> for the next three hours, the "today" team will broadcast live from across the country, launching a food drive with feeding america. >> we truly appreciate that they are here for us. >> because we are also a nation of givers. >> we're going to get more money, buy more food because of what you all are doing. >> every dollar you give can help provide at least ten meals for a family. >> supporting the fight, a few well-known faces and if you want to help, you can join our mission to feed america and fill the homes and hearts of those who need it most. >> i'm grateful for them god bless them >> today, tuesday, december 15th, 2020 >> hey, guys, welcome back to "today." it is a special, special tuesday morning. we are kicking off "today's" season of giving, the food drive.

>> we've been working on this for weeks and we are so excited to be here on this day our correspondents are here and they are ready they're spread out across the country at food distributions and drives we've got vicky nguyen in houston, al is over in east hartford, connecticut, there's a big turnout there and morgan radford in chicago. >> and on our big board, take a look at these stations these are affiliates from all across the country they are at their own food drives we want to say thank you, you guys, for pitching in. we see you and we also want to thank all the companies that are stepping up to help as well. >> yeah, we put the call out and the call was answered in a big way from companies but we're putting the call out to you too if you are able, if you are inspired to give this morning, this is your moment and we're really trying to make it as easy as possible. remember, $1 makes a difference. sheinelle is here to explain how easy it is >> there's no crying on television

i'm so excited this morning. i feel good things so all across the four hours of "today" you're going to see this it's a qr code it's very bottom left-hand corner of your screen. so grab your smartphone. just open up your camera, okay i have my camera up. now, i want you to take your camera right now, because everybody has their cell phone, and hold it up to the screen and just put it right over that code do you see that? and look what happens. right there you get a notification at the top of your phone. now just click on that when you do, look at this, it takes you right to the website where you can learn more ways to support feeding america right now. you can also head to today.com/feedingamerica but look, you scroll right down to the bottom and you have it right there. just click on how you would like to give. it can't get any easier, guys. >> in the next hours, we're going to show you how important it is. sheinelle, thank you so much we always show that qr code and now we finally understand it thank you. let's get a quick check of the news here at 8:00. yeah, that massive effort to

vaccinate america's health care workers against covid-19 is expanding today. those shots providing protection and boosting morale on the front lines. nbc's tom costello joins us with the three things we need to watch today. hey, tom, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. i'm going to add a fourth. we've got some breaking news just now the fda is saying that it has done a preliminary review of the next vaccine, this one made by moderna, and so far the data from moderna suggests that it too should receive emergency authorization with about 94% efficacy so that is very good news indeed we expect the fda could move on that within a few days this is day two, however, as you mentioned, of the pfizer vaccine rollout. by the end of the week, 2.9 million doses will have been distributed nationwide all 50 states plus territories more than 600 locations. earlier this morning, savannah talked to some of the frontline medical workers receiving a vaccine.

ohio state wexner e.r. center nurse nature royster >> we've been battling this as health care workers, as a team knowing there's a vaccine and knowing that we're starting the process of getting everyone vaccinated, especially the health care workers that work with the patients every day, it's a very optimistic feeling and leaves me very hopeful for the future. >> reporter: the vaccine can't come fast enough the death toll has now hit 300,000 across the united states that's the highest death toll in the world. also this morning, a bipartisan group of senators has come up now with a covid relief plan this one is at least $748 billion, and it is also the least resistance in the senate so far it would provide unemployment benefits for small businesses and money as well for vaccine distribution the other bill includes controversial aid for state and local governments along with liability protection for companies. it's now up to senate leader mitch mcconnell and house leader nancy pelosi to come up with a compromise there they need to do that quickly because congress is supposed to go out on holiday break this

friday so the hope is that they would pass a covid relief bill before then guys, back to you. >> tom, thank you. politics now, president-elect joe biden addressed the nation last night after the electoral college made his victory official he said it was time to turn the page, but also condemned president trump for trying to overturn election results. weekend "today" co-anchor and white house correspondent kristen welker has the latest for us good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you. just hours after the electoral college made his win official, president-elect joe biden addressing the nation and delivering his most forceful condemnation yet of president trump, defending the legitimacy of the election and blasting the president for trying to overturn the results, explaining why the president's claims of widespread fraud are false. >> our democracy pushed, tested, threatened, proved to be resilient, true and strong the court sent a clear signal to president trump that they would be no part of an unprecedented

assault on our democracy. >> reporter: earlier monday, electors gathered in every state across the country to affirm biden's victory in the electoral college. biden receiving 306 votes to president trump's 232. now, on january 6th, that's when congress will officially count those electoral votes with biden expected to be sworn in as the 46th president just two weeks later on january 20th. meanwhile, an early exit for attorney general bill barr who resigned yesterday in his resignation letter, barr praising president trump after their relationship had turned sour, when barr publicly broke with his boss saying so far he's not seen voter fraud that could have affected the outcome of the election savannah. >> kristen, thank you very much. the timing couldn't be worse. this powerful winter storm that could delay a lot of things, shipping of vaccines, holiday shipping, food drives and power outages. al is tracking it for us hey, al, good morning. >> reporter: hey, guys, good morning.

we're in the rentschler field parking lot, home of the uconn huskies. you can see the cars coming through and they have a real assembly line going. contactless, people just putting stuff in the backs of cars as they come through. but this parking lot is going to be a mess, as hoda said in the next couple of days because of that winter storm that's coming. let's show you what's going on as we take a look at the satellite, you'll see we've got the storm system in the mid-section of the country that's going to make its way to the east today's weather, again, snow in the rockies and the plains, beautiful day along the eastern seaboard, but chilly another western storm comes in and then when that storm system develops along the northeast coast or we get that nor'easter, we are looking for anywhere from snowfall rates 1 to 3 inches per hour, snowfall totals anywhere from about 3 inches down in washington to up to 2 feet in parts of western pennsylvania, 10 inches as you get toward boston that's what's going on around

y. >> good morning. i'm meteorologist kari hall. taking a look at our highs for today. it's going to be nice and cool. we're also going to see mostly sunny skies today. but the clouds start to move in tomorrow ahead of our next round of rain that will arrive late tomorrow night. and it's mostly moving out before sunrise on thursday morning. after that, we're going back to our dry weather and temperatures will warm up just slightly in time for the weekend for san francisco expect highs mostly reaching into the upper 50s over the next several days. al, beaut sight behind you we'll get back to you in just a second. up next, it is go time for you and our other teams fanned out at food drives across america. get your phone ready, guys a simple way that we all can make a difference. >> and did we mention we've got some special surprises lined up as well? get ready to be inspired, get ready to help, get ready to smile and, yes, maybe a happy tear or two there. we'll be right back.

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this is the completely reimagined, street smart, 2020 ford escape. hey! ♪ i was born right in theof my doorway♪ ♪ i don't know where i am, ♪ i don't know where i've been ♪ but i know where i wanna go we are back. it is 8:15 and it is here. we are officially kicking off our "today's" season of giving food drive and we are teaming up with feeding america

we're basically shining a light on millions of people who are having a tough time putting food on the table. >> absolutely, the need is great and the response is greater. our team is live at food drives across the country where armies of staffers and volunteers are working tirelessly to keep up with the overwhelming need facing some of our friends and neighbors during this pandemic. >> vicky nguyen is in houston, al is in east hartford, connecticut, morgan radford in chicago. vicky, let's start with you and get a closer look at the growing crisis there. >> reporter: hey, good morning, hoda and savannah. we are just outside of nrg stadium where the houston texans play, but we are here at a supersite where they are donating food. literally hundreds of thousands of pounds of food. this is set up by the houston food bank. all these trunks are open as these cars make it through about 10 to 15 cars are being served in a minute these cars were lined up since 3:30 this morning. why are we in houston? this is the second most food insecure community in the

country, only second to los angeles. food insecurity, what does that mean it means that these folks do not have reliable access to healthy and nutritious food. it takes an army of volunteers who are out here to make a difference i want to introduce you to two college students what are you two college students doing out here at the crack of dawn? >> just trying to help out the community. you know, growing up, my family relied on the generosity of others during the holiday season, so being out here takes on special meaning. >> reporter: it's so great to see you. tell me what this means to be out here and i know this isn't your first time. >> it's giving back to the community that we need to do, especially during the times that we're going through. a lot of people are affected by covid and not able to work and provide for their family, so just to be able to be here and give back feels amazing. >> reporter: thank you very much covid has made it much tougher on so many families, but we are so excited to report this morning, help is on the way.

>> it's really, really tight >> we need sometimes a little help. >> it is very hard. >> reporter: across the country, the need for food is growing >> families are struggling to afford basic necessities. >> there is an army of people working to help feed americans in need. >> reporter: on foot, in cars, people waiting in line stretching for miles >> this year has been difficult. >> reporter: in 2020, it's projected that more than 50 million people could be food insecure a staggering 40% increase from last year. >> if it weren't for these sites, would you be able to get food on the table? >> not really. >> have you ever been to any food pantry before >> i'll be honest with you, no. >> reporter: francisco lost his job at a tuxedo shop when it shut down.

he's one of the many we met out in freezing temperatures waiting for food. >> what would you like to say to the people who are helping, the volunteers >> i'm grateful for them and i mean god bless them. >> reporter: he's among an estimated 40% of people seeking help from food banks for the first time and this year one in four children is food insecure. >> tried to feed the family and you're not even able to. >> reporter: and in los angeles county, more than 600,000 children experience food insecurity >> it's hard sometimes they do go to sleep hungry. >> reporter: olivia says she's scraping by, trying to stay strong for her husband and two kids. >> we always had to get something different so they don't see the same type of food every day. >> reporter: it's not just happening in big cities. >> it's been difficult, but we're managing. >> reporter: but in small towns across america too >> never in a million years did i ever think that i was going to

be in this position. >> reporter: in maine, this one-room food bank now feeds more than 500 families each week, nearly double what it was before the pandemic. >> winters are harsh and people need the food. >> reporter: and the demand is growing. feeding america projects in 2021 they'll fall 8 billion meals short, but volunteers are stepping up, lending a helping hand. >> i like to see everybody helping the community. >> how is everybody? >> reporter: places like philadelphia rely on volunteers like dana cooper. >> anybody and everybody needs food they're going to get some of this food. >> reporter: even in these tough times, americans remain hopeful. >> you know what life is good i woke up this morning >> reporter: and our special thanks to those families who spoke with us and shared their

stories, and to the volunteers too who are putting in countless hours to make a difference in their communities. you know here in houston, this is the largest food bank by distribution they put out the most food in the country for people who are in need. houston has seen a 101% increase in the number of households who need food assistance remember, i told you at the beginning of this, help is on the way. take a look, let's open the door target has donated this truck full of food more than 15,000 meals and this is brian green, the ceo of the houston food bank. brian, talk to me about what donations like this mean and also what can people do in the community to help? >> the feeding america food banks, we're all experiencing this, we're struggling to keep up, so when we're able to get donations like this, it makes a huge difference. but most people don't have tractor-trailer loads of turkeys to give. but the reality is for food banks, what we're able to get is surplus food from the food

industry so when they're making their financial contributions to the feeding america food banks, this enables us to do that and we all need volunteers. >> reporter: and they're doing a phenomenal job we're talking turkeys, vegetables, all the things you need for holiday meals this is more than 64 million meals target has donated to feeding america. aside from volunteers, what can people do in their local communities to help their food banks all across the country >> go for the feeding america website and find your food bank in your community. every food bank is a little bit different. volunteers of course and funding to keep these operations going also if you want to organize a local food drive, that's great but the main thing is take the pressure off us and make sure that you're taking care of your neighbors and bringing that trend line down. >> reporter: brian green, thank you so much. they have given out 800,000 to a million pounds of food each time they have done one of these distributions in one day it is really remarkable. savannah, hoda, back to you. >> makes you feel good vicky, thank you so much let's go over to al in east

hartford, connecticut. a food distribution happening right now. couldn't believe those images earlier, al, of all the cars lining up. there's nothing special about it, this happens all the time. >> reporter: that's right. twice a week, guys, here at the parking lot of rentschler field, home of the uconn huskies. you can see what they do, they have got these food boxes, 40 pounds of food people have their trunks open. they put them in and then there's more food that gets going on down the line now, all the way down here, you can see those cars lined up in the parking lot. they will give out about 70,000 pounds of food today 12 cars per minute are coming through this line as it happens. this food bank has seen a 20% to 30% increase in food wealth. thankfully our friends at pepsico foundation are donating 20,000 shelf-stable meals. that means the food is ready to be brought off these trucks. let's open them up, boys, and see what you've got.

inside chicken bites, applesauce, raisin, pizzas, we'll get these forklifts off and start pulling these off. pepsico's goal is to provide more than 1 billion healthy meals to families by 2025. let's bring back in jason. jason is of course the ceo here at food share and the connecticut food bank. what is this going to mean to your effort? >> this is incredible, al. i think all of us here, we've got a lot of volunteers and staff and board members, we're beside ourselves this is 20,000 meals that will go on tables for people here that are hungry in the state of connecticut. at this time of year during this pandemic, it means the world to us, it really does. >> we're glad of the work you guys do. >> absolutely incredible. >> reporter: $1 brings two families food. >> absolutely. $1 can get 2.5 meals we can provide, so it's an amazing -- it's an amazing value proposition.

we love what we do it's a labor of love for all of us. >> reporter: and we love what >> thank you, al thank you so much. >> reporter: guys, back to you. >> that's beautiful to see i keep looking at our qr code. it's right there on the screen for you to get. >> we told you, we're going to call in the big guns a lot of these corporations have been long-time partners of feeding america. but you can be a partner too you see the qr code. if you open your camera and put it on that, it will take you to a place where you can find out how you can help just as the feeding america person said a few moments ago, you can just help by knowing what is going on with your neighbor or your friend, your church there's a lot of ways to answer the need, and the need is great. coming up, we'll have a firsthand look at how donations are turned into help for millions of families first on a really special morning, a check of your local news

good morning to you. it's 8:26. i'm marcus washington. the south bay shaken up by two earthquakes about a minute apart just before 7:00 this morning. that first quake was a 3.7. the next a 3.6. the usgs says both were centered a few miles northeast of morgan hill. here's the seismograph of when it happened. so far there are no reports of damage but nbc bay area lives in morgan hill and he felt a lot of shaking and to him it felt like

two different quakes. i felt it here at the studio. at first i thought it was the air unit coming on and they quickly said, nope, it was an earthquake. >> well, we have seen a lot of those accounts on social media. so we'll hopefully not have any more today as our calm conditions return to the bay area weatherwise. let's take a look at our highway temperatures for today. we're going to reach into the upper 50s, low 60s. some sunshine today, and most of the day tomorrow. but then late tomorrow night, the rain will be back. and we'll see those showers moving through between late tomorrow night and early thursday morning. of course, we'll have more updates on that, marcus. going to have another local news update coming up in 30 minutes. i'll see you back here then. to all the businesses that helped us

make it through 2020... thank you for going the extra mile... and for the extra pump of caramel. thank you for the good food... and the good karma. thank you for all the deliveries... especially this one. you've reminded us that no matter what, we can always find a way to bounce forward. so thank you, to our customers and to businesses everywhere, from all of us at comcast business.

8:30 now it is tuesday morning, 15th of december, 2020 just take a look at that image those are folks lined up at a food drive and folks pitching in to help feeding america, do just that, feed this country. there are lots of hungry bellies this morning there are tables that are not full there are children who are feeling those pangs and it is in our power to help. this morning we are going to do just that. >> we definitely are not only us, we're asking companies to help out. we're also asking you to help out from home. so coming up we are going to talk to the ceo of feeding

america and show how your donations could mean dinner on the table for your neighbors in need. >> in the third hour al is chatting with young volunteers giving back in a big way wait until you see how stars like sheryl crow and jane lynch are getting involved. >> we are so grateful to all the nbc stations and affiliates joining us this morning, helping us shine a light on our country's feeding america food drives they made it possible for us to fan out across the nation, nbc 5 in chicago, nbc connecticut all on location with us this morning. >> and raise your hand if your name is matt barnes from our columbus affiliate inside the mid-ohio food collective warehouse is where is reporter marissa bagg from our miami station, nbc 6. she's at the feeding south florida food drive distribution center we see you

morning anchor devonte mckenneth from our winston, salem affiliate. is at a pop-up food pantry run by the second food harvest of north carolina >> we also have lindsay shively from our kansas city affiliate at the harvesters community network where volunteers are packaging food for distribution and reporter eddie randall from our denver affiliate 9 news is inside the warehouse at the food bank of the rockies where volunteers are loading up trucks for food distribution. great work, everybody. this is a nationwide effort. we're so grateful to our affiliates helping us do that with their time this morning. >> so great to see you guys this morning. now it's time for a check of our weather. we've got al in connecticut. hey, mr. roker, good morning. >> reporter: hey, guys, here at rentschler field, home of the uconn huskies. 12 cars per minute they have been doing this twice a week since april almost a quarter of a million cars have come through getting food for the hungry here in connecticut. let's show you what we are

looking at as far as our weather. for today, the east coast looks pretty good, lots of sunshine. a little on the chilly side. that low-pressure system in the mid-plains, that's the one that's going to transfer energy -- >> hey, al. >> reporter: how ya doing? create trouble up along the east coast. for tomorrow that western storm moves further east we've got a major storm along the mid-atlantic into the northeast, parts of the ohio river valley as well sunshine from texas all the way into the southwest >> good tuesday morning. i'm meteorologist kari hall. let's take a live look outside in san francisco. and we're starting out with a few clouds moving in. a filtered sunshine. we can expect more of the same today as we head into the upper 50s all across the bay area. and it's going to be a cool night. by tomorrow, we'll see more sunshine to start, but then clouds move in ahead of our next round of rain that's going to be passing from north to south late tomorrow evening into thursday

morning. then we're back to our sunny weather in time for the weekend. we have seen how the food is distributed and that brings us to nbc's morgan radford. she's at the greater chicago food depository. that's where staff members prep and pack the food up so it can be delivered to their communities. good morning, morgan. >> reporter: hoda, good morning. you've got it. this is where it all starts. this is the first step it's how food actually gets distributed to those pantries and then gets in the hands of people who need it it's all thanks to the helpers and the heroes, the people working on these conveyor belts to get this food shipped out it starts like this. the food is first prepared here and then it's packed in these boxes. boxes that are lined up here on these shelves behind me and then they get loaded onto trucks and delivered to more than 7,000 local pantries and shelters here in chicago and they distribute more than 300,000 pounds of food that's every single day.

the workers here say they have never seen such a sharp increase in need, which is why i would love to introduce you to joe >> hi, nice to meet you. >> reporter: joe, how long have you worked here? >> i've been with the food depository for ten years now. >> reporter: have you ever seen the need like you've seen it this year? >> it's been overwhelming this year the people need food assistance. it's just been double the workload we have employees working six to eight hours. >> reporter: we have a little surprise for you this truck is by our friends at conagra brands and inside is something that we expect will help you help me lift it. >> oh, wow. >> reporter: yeah, this is 6,000 pounds of food inside these boxes you'll find snacks, things like popcorn, flour, pickles, pasta, anything you can imagine that's expected to help. do you think this will kind of help amplify the effort here in chicago? >> this will definitely help i want to thank conagra for

supporting food banks. and the feeding america network. this will definitely help us get food out to the people in need, especially during the holiday season. >> reporter: holiday season where people are hungry, but there's also people who are trying to help. >> this is great. >> reporter: so it gets a little bit better, joe. conagra is expected to donate more than 30 million pounds of food. >> wow. >> reporter: and that is all across the feeding america by the end of this year hoda, we are excited to be able to share some of the help and the heroes who are helping make this holiday season a little bit brighter for people who need it. >> we are excited too, morgan. i'm sure that that donation, and also we saw some others, of course in houston and in connecticut. so why don't you sum it all up for us. >> reporter: well, it's impressive, hoda just in this half hour already target, pepsico foundation, conagra have helped to provide 35,000 meals just across the country. and that's in addition to that extra 6,000 pounds of food that conagra brand helped donate

here so between that 35,000 and that 6,000, that is going to help a lot of people this holiday season. >> indeed. the donations keep coming in all right, morgan, thank you. >> a reminder the qr code that sheinelle helpfully explained to us is right there. you don't have to give millions. you can give a dollar and it will make a difference for folks. just ahead the ceo of feeding america is with us and will share solutions to the problems so many are facing how to give, how to get help how to give, how to get help (soft music) hey dad, i'm about to leave. don't forget your hat . good morning. how can i help? i need help connecting with my students. behind every last minute save, ok, that works. and holiday surprise, thank you! a customer service rep is working unseen,

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we are back, 8:39, with more of our "today's" season of giving food drive. we've been teaming up with folks at feeding america to lend a helping hand to those who do not have enough to eat, and many of you are helping out. i have to say we couldn't be more grateful. >> their hearts are big and it's really, really touching. for more perspective on the impact that your generosity can have, we want to bring in the ceo of feeding america, claire

babineaux-fontenot claire, good morning so nice to meet you. thank you for being on. >> well, thank you this is absolutely amazing thank you, "today" show. i've gone through more than one of these already >> all of us, all of us. i know there's a run of tissues around here. claire, there's also a run on hope and inspiration and excitement because this is something that every single person watching can do, can make a difference tell us about the scope of the need, especially this year >> yes so i love the show for lots of reasons, and one is because you're highlighting not only that there is -- there really is unprecedented need out there our estimates are more than 50 million people are likely to be food insecure as a result of this pandemic. that's one in four individuals one in six individuals, one in four kids. but in some communities, that could be as much as one out of every two children in a community who can be food

insecure, so certainly the challenge is great but what i also love is how you're highlighting the remarkable generosity that we're seeing we've been seeing it since the beginning of this pandemic, that you are holding up those heroes that are out there on the front lines helping people in need when they need it the most and finally that you shared that every single contribution counts if you give what you can, and also if you're in need of help, we are here for you. so please go to feedingamerica.org, use that qr code, get the need if you need it and also help us if you can. >> claire, we love all of this we've been spotlighting the companies that are giving, but i think you just pointed something out that's important some people think, well, i don't have much to give. what's five bucks going to do if i give $5. what would $5 do >> in certain instances, $5 can actually mean 50 meals it's remarkable the way that it can translate because of the

efficiencies that we have in our system that $1 can mean 10 meals. so that counts every time you help a child to go to bed with a full belly, you're doing something to help your neighbor. so that's again one of the things i love about this program is that you're highlighting that all of us can do something also if you can spare some time, you can also volunteer. >> we need a little muscle somebody has to lift those boxes and pack them up and that's just as important and maybe more so claire, i want to underline something you said because we're talking a lot about folks who can give but we really want to make sure that if you need to receive you know how to do so. there is absolutely no shame if you need help, this is everybody wrapping their arms around you how can they get help in their communities? >> absolutely. so i would encourage them to go to that same qr code put in their zip code and they'll find a food bank that serves their local communities who will be out there trying to

help them as well. one of the big challenges around food insecurity in this country is the shame thank you for highlighting 40% of the people turning to us for help have never before relied upon the charitable food system. there's so many hard-working, dedicated people who find themselves in need and we as a country are here to help them in communities, so thanks for that too. >> claire, thank you you're doing god's work. we can't tell you how much we appreciate this moment with you. we hope that people realize it's easy to give, just like claire was saying go to the qr code, bottom corner of your screen, left-hand corner and head to today.com/feeding america. >> thank you, claire. >> thank you. we'll be back with much more of "today's" season of giving. a drink with friends can turn into a few. stop! it's easy to lose track. and getting a dui is easier than you think. plan ahead, call a cab. share a ride. if you choose to drink, choose a sober way to go. go safely, california.

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now? i feel like we're doing something good here today. savannah mentioned earlier, every single dollar contributed to this effort helps don't just take our word for it. check this out >> hi, "today" show! it's drew, and we're excited for all the things you're doing this morning and for your food drive with feeding america. >> thank you for asking me to be a part of raising money and awareness for feeding america. >> i remember the first time on nightly news at the beginning of the pandemic we showed those long lines of people waiting for food i think there was genuine shock. 40% of the people in those lines had never before visited a food bank. >> this year 17 million children in america don't know where their next meal is coming from that's one in four children. as a mother of a 1 1/2-year-old, i cannot even begin to understand or imagine what that would be like. >> i know in my hometown of st. louis, there's almost the better part of a million people who are struggling right now with food and hunger and a quarter of

those are kids. >> food insecurity puts people in these impossible predicaments of do i go to the grocery store? do i spend those few dollars i have to pay the rent, to pay the utilities, to pay for education? it adds a lot of emotional and physical stressor on families, especially children. >> which is unacceptable so let's do something. >> every dollar you give can help provide at least ten meals for a family in need this holiday through the feeding america network of food banks. >> $1 equals ten meals $10, 100 meals of the you get it donate, please. >> scan that qr code down there. >> i don't know what a qr code is i don't know but do not let that stop you from doing everything you can to help one of those children this season, because i'm not going to let it stop me. >> it's not just about food, obviously, but it's about caring and providing wellness and strength and most importantly hope

happy holidays to everybody, and i hope you have a good one let's root for a better 2021 cheers. >> cheers to your season of giving we love you! >> we love you back. >> everyone is feeling the love this morning, but most importantly the folks who really need it, folks getting help from feeding america. >> if we want to help amy figure out that qr code, all you do is take your phone, put it on camera, hold it up to that qr code and it will bring you to the right website. >> and don't give up because we actually are hearing that feeding america's website is getting a lot of traffic, which means you're doing your part, thank you. we'll keep it going all morning long al has an update on the massive foodrive up in connecticut d

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[ sfx: honk ] [ sfx: pop pop pop pop ] [ sfx: pop ping bloop pop ping bloop ] the day can wait. enter the golden state with real california dairy. welcome back, guys our smiles are big, our hearts are full this morning. we've had the privilege of helping out feeding america to provide some healthy meals to families in need this holiday

season we want to say thank you to everybody who's been giving. >> thank you so much if you're trying to give this morning and the computer seems slow or you can't get onto the website, that's because so many of you are responding. don't give up. don't give up, keep it going we will get your donation. let's check in with al who is in east hartford, connecticut hi, al. >> reporter: hey, guys, good morning. here at rentschler field, home of the uconn huskies, the cars come in, they have their trunks, their hatches open, folks put the 40-pound boxes in and other dry goods. they'll go through -- they have 12 cars a minute going through here let's bring in jason again, ceo of food share, the connecticut food bank. what does today mean besides what's going on, you had the trucks from pepsico. what does this mean today? >> al, having you and your team here and those trucks field with meals, it means the world to us. >> reporter: if people are watching besides just in connecticut, how do they help?

>> we're part of the feeding america network. people can go to feeding america and find out how to help food banks all across the country there's about 200 food banks in the feeding america network and we're proud to be part of them. >> reporter: jason, what's going to happen? we've got this big nor'easter coming this parking lot will be full of snow. >> you need to tell me i need your advice. >> reporter: what will you guys do as we get into winter >> if you're telling us we're going to probably have to shut down on thursday and probably move to friday we'll probably have to move the distribution that's not an easy proposition. >> reporter: going into the winter, what are you going to do >> we're looking at airplane hangars, college campuses. we're not going to be able to keep this up with snow on the ground so we're looking at different options. we're here through the end of december but january, february, march in new england, it gets a little -- it gets a little cold and a little snowy. >> reporter: thank you for what you guys have been doing, you've been doing god's work. merry christmas. >> merry christmas to you. >> reporter: guys, they'll

continue here and probably see 2,000, 2,500 cars today alone. guys. >> incredible. >> thank you so much well, the good work does not stop here. as mentioned, the qr code will remain up all morning as we go on the "today" show. there's plenty of time for you to help out, stick with it you can also go to today.com/feedingamerica. >> and we're really just getting started here on "today." in the third hour, sheryl crow and jane lynch will join us and pitch in plus al shows us how the folks at the university of connecticut are stepping up in a big way to help their neighbors. >> and tomorrow we're going to keep going with our season of giving we'll have a big toy drive for families in need, and i cannot wait to introduce you to this special little girl with the huge heart boy, did she capture mine. her name is lily she's got a nonprofit called lily's toy house donating toys to needy children to honor her late father, a veteran who was serving our country and killed overseas we'll talk to lily and have a big toy drive. unfortunately, that can be the first thing to go when times are

hard. >> you're right. >> we are in the holidays and we want to make sure kids' bellies are full and their hearts are full and they get something special this year. >> before we go, we want to give you a special mention of a special show airing tonight on our streaming channel, today all day. it's called holidays in my house and we'll be sharing our own family traditions from the trimming of the tree to hanging stockings and mixing up cocktails or two holidays at my house airs tonight at 8:00 eastern and pacific so head over to our streaming channel, today all day. you can also find us on today.com, peacock, zumo and roku. >> did you stop speaking english? zumo and roku. we've got the qr code and now you're giving us a zumo and roku thanks for being with us thanks for your big heart. thanks for your donations. we're back with much more after your local news, your weather and these messages

good morning to you. it's 8:56. i'm marcus washington. the south bay this morning shaking up with two earthquakes about one minute apart. the first one was a 3.7. the next a 3.6. the usgs says each hit before

7:00 am a few miles east of morgan hill. a lot of people felt that shaking. and san francisco health care workers will be the first in the bay area to receive pfizer's covid vaccine. the first doses will be administers at zuckerberg general hospital. and it's one of a handful of bay area medical facilities getting the first vaccines for frontline workers and senior care centers. happening now for you, we're following the roll-out. we'll have that full update at midday. also monitoring today's regional update on covid cases and you can head to our twitter feed for the latest. in a land not so far away,

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live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza, this is the third hour of "today." >> good morning and welcome to the third hour of "today" on this tuesday, december 15th. i'm sheinelle here with dylan. craig is off and al is in connecticut this morning because it is a big morning here for us on "today" of the we are kicking off "today's" season of giving. it's already been a fantastic couple of hours and we want to keep it going. this year it is so important as you know. all morning we've been highlighting the food insecurity crisis. look at these lines from families waiting to get food. we'll have live updates from all around the country today, with volunteers working as we