ConAgra Foods Foundation and country music singer and song
writer Josh Kelley help alleviate
hunger for children during the summer months
CHICAGO, May 16, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- When
school is out for summer vacation, millions of children across the
country lose access to the free and reduced-price meals they
receive during the school year.
The Summer Food Service Program, run by the United States
Department of Agriculture (USDA), aims to fill that gap, providing
children with free, healthy meals during the summer months when
children often face missing meals and lack the proper
nutrition.
Last year more than 20 million children received free and
reduced-price meals during the school year, but only 2.3 million
received meals through the Summer Food Service Program.
This summer, in 20 states, 23 food banks in the Feeding America
network are receiving a Hunger-Free Summer grant sponsored by
ConAgra Foods Foundation. ConAgra Foods has pledged
$5 million over five years to Feeding
America to establish the Hunger-Free Summer program. The
funds support programs across the country that help provide more
meals to more children. Key components include continual
program outreach and branding, strong community partnerships and
the combination of summer meal programs with other enrichment
activities.
"Summer puts a stress on families and children who are in the
need of healthy and nutritious meals," said Vicki Escarra, president and CEO of Feeding
America, the country's largest domestic hunger-relief organization.
"With ConAgra Food Foundation's support we are able to get
out into communities where the need is strong and ensure that
children will not miss meals or go without proper nutrition while
school is out of session."
To support Hunger-Free Summer this year, ConAgra Foods
Foundation will host a multi-city tour with country music singer
and song writer Josh Kelley.
Kelley will conduct interviews with national and local media
via a satellite media tour, radio media tour, and local market
interviews throughout the summer to help raise awareness of this
issue.
Feeding America food bank recipients of the Hunger-Free Summer
grant are: Redwood Empire Food Bank; Second Harvest Food Bank
of Orange County; Bread of the Mighty Food Bank; America's Second
Harvest of Coastal Georgia; Idaho Foodbank Warehouse, Inc.; Food
Finders Food Bank, Inc.; Kansas Food Bank Warehouse; Food Bank of
Eastern Michigan; Harvesters-The
Community Food Network; Mississippi Food Bank Network; Inter-Faith
Food Shuttle; Food Bank for the Heartland; Food Bank of South
Jersey; Food Bank of Northern
Nevada; Catholic Charities Food Bank of the Southern Tier;
Central Pennsylvania Food Bank; Lowcountry Food Bank; Second
Harvest Food Bank of East
Tennessee; Capital Area Food Bank for Texas, Inc.; Regional East Texas Food Bank;
Feeding America Southwest Virginia; Food Bank of the Virgin
Peninsula; and Vermont Food Bank.
About Feeding America:
Feeding America provides low-income individuals and families
with the fuel to survive and even thrive. As the nation's leading
domestic hunger-relief charity, our network members supply food to
more than 37 million Americans each year, including 14 million
children and 3 million seniors. Serving the entire United States, more than 200 member food banks
support 63,000 agencies that address hunger in all of its forms.
For more information on how you can fight hunger in your community
and across the country, visit feedingamerica.org/. Find us on
Facebook at facebook.com/FeedingAmerica or follow our news on
Twitter at twitter.com/FeedingAmerica.
ConAgra Foods Foundation
The ConAgra Foods Foundation, through its Nourish Today,
Flourish Tomorrow platform, is dedicated to raising awareness of
the nearly 17 million children in America who are at risk of hunger
and don't have enough food to live active, healthful lives. It
aggressively pursues sustainable solutions in the fight against
child hunger. And the Foundation is committed to building a
community of people who are passionate about ensuring that all kids
have access to the food and facts they need to eat nutritiously
while living balanced lifestyles and succeeding in school and life.
ConAgra Foods Foundation invests in national and local partnerships
with high-impact, not-for-profit organizations, such as Feeding
America, that take an innovative approach to addressing needs in
the core areas of hunger and nutrition education. For more
information, please visit www.conagrafoodsfoundation.org or
www.facebook.com/ConAgraFoodsFoundation. The ConAgra Foods
Foundation is funded solely by ConAgra Foods (NYSE: CAG).
Contacts:
Molly Hart
Feeding America
312-641-5400
mhart@feedingamerica.org
Angie Amberg
Fleishman Hillard
314-982-8646
Angie.Amberg@fleishman.com
Contact for interview with Josh
Kelley
SOURCE Feeding America