AUSTIN, Texas, July 21, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The Capital
Area Food Bank of Texas is
bringing more meals to more children this summer with the help of a
$20,000 Hunger-Free Summer grant. In
the Austin area, more than 155,000
children are food insecure, which means they don't always know
where their next meal is coming from. The grant, awarded by the
ConAgra Foods® Foundation and Feeding America®, will allow the
Capital Area Food Bank to expand its summer meal programs from 23
locations to 30 sites in Austin.
(Photo:
http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110721/CG37859)
Country singer-songwriter Josh
Kelley is visiting food banks across the country to bring
further attention to the issue of child hunger, especially during
the summer months. On Wednesday, July
20, Kelley is in Austin at
one of the Capital Area Food Bank of Texas' summer food program sites, the Boys and
Girls Club of the Austin Area.
While visiting the Boys and Girls Club, Kelley is volunteering his
time by serving lunch, participating in arts and crafts, and
singing with the children.
"Now that we've approached the halfway point of summer, a time
when many children can't depend on the free or reduced-priced meals
they receive throughout the school year, giving children access to
nutritious meals becomes ever so important," said Kelley. "As a new
dad it is hard to imagine that millions of children face hunger and
don't know where they will get their next meal. I am proud to be
visiting sites like the Boys and Girls Club of Austin Area to spend time with the kids, and
also celebrate the volunteers and staff members who are making
great strides in an effort toward ending child hunger in their
communities."
This summer as many as 18 million children may face an increased
risk of hunger because they do not have access to the free or
reduced-priced meals they receive during the school year. The state
of Texas has one of highest rates
of child food insecurity and is currently ranked fourth with more
than 1.8 million children who may not know where their next meal is
coming from, according to Feeding America.
"In the counties we serve, more than 25 percent of children are
struggling with hunger. Receiving this Hunger-Free Summer grant
from ConAgra Foods Foundation and Feeding America will allow us to
expand our summer food program to seven new sites and build upon
partnerships with organizations like the Boys and Girls Club," said
Hank Perret, president and CEO of
Capital Area Food Bank of Texas.
"Through the generosity and ongoing support of partners like
ConAgra Foods Foundation and Feeding America we expect to serve
40,000 lunches to children over the course of the summer."
The goal of the Hunger-Free Summer program is to help
participating Feeding America network food banks serve an
additional one million meals and feed 10,000 more children through
their unique and innovative, community-based programs. ConAgra
Foods Foundation's funding helps ensure that food banks will have
the means to help more children get the nutritious foods they need,
but may not have access to because of financial difficulties their
families face. The need for assistance is that much greater during
summer months when children are no longer receiving free or
reduced-priced meals through the USDA's school lunch and breakfast
programs.
"It is hard for many of us to imagine that so many children in
our own backyard, whether in Austin or almost any other community in
the United States, don't have
access to food on a regular basis," said Kori Reed, vice president, Foundation and Cause.
"Hunger is a national issue with community-based solutions,
which is why we partner with the Capital Area Food Bank in
Texas to reach more kids, making a
difference one meal at a time. "
For the complete list of 2011 Hunger-Free Summer grant
recipients or to learn more about the program, visit
HungerFreeSummerTour.org.
About Capital Area Food Bank of Texas
The mission of the Capital Area Food Bank of Texas (CAFB) is to nourish hungry people and
lead the community in ending hunger. Since 1982, CAFB in
collaboration with more than 350 partner agencies has been helping
Central Texans in need providing healthy food, nutritional program
assistance and education, so they can make better choices at
mealtime. In the past 12 months, CAFB distributed more than 25
million pounds of food to 300,000 Central Texans in its 21 county
service territory. For more information on the Capital Area Food
Bank of Texas and its programs,
visit www.austinfoodbank.org or call 512-282-2111.
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 61,000 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 www.feedingamerica.org; find us on
Facebook at facebook.com/FeedingAmerica; or follow our news on
Twitter at twitter.com/FeedingAmerica.
About 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).
SOURCE ConAgra Foods Foundation