OMAHA, Neb., March 5, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- ConAgra Foods
is kicking off the third year of its nationally-recognized Child
Hunger Ends Here campaign with an original song and exclusive video
content from platinum recording artists Jewel, Owl City, and
Jay Sean, and a social media
influencer campaign comprised of leading bloggers from throughout
the nation. With these efforts, ConAgra Foods will work to meet its
overall goal of donating five million meals this school year –
which complements the ConAgra Foods Foundation's $10 million, 5-year commitment – to Feeding
America, the nation's largest domestic hunger-relief
organization.
Co-written by industry-leading songwriters Hunter Hayes, Luke
Laird and Barry Dean, the
original song, "Here's Hope," leverages the power of music to
inspire action, touch hearts and raise awareness for the issue,
while motivating consumers to learn how they can help end child
hunger in the United States.
Beginning March 2, consumers can
visit www.ChildHungerEndsHere.com to download original versions of
the song recorded by Jewel, Owl City and Jay Sean, and enjoy exclusive content from each
artist while supporting the Child Hunger Ends Here campaign.
"More than one in five children in the
United States doesn't know where their next meal is coming
from, and for nearly two decades, ConAgra Foods and the ConAgra
Foods Foundation have been powerful advocates for those children,"
said Gary Rodkin, CEO of ConAgra
Foods. "It is through our continued collaboration with Feeding
America and our unwavering commitment, that we have been able to
make progress in this fight. Now, with these talented performers,
we hope to have an even bigger impact and encourage more consumers
to join us."
To participate, consumers can purchase specially marked packages
of select ConAgra Foods brands including Banquet, Chef Boyardee,
Healthy Choice, Hunt's, Marie
Callender's, Manwich, Orville
Redenbacher's, Peter Pan and Snack Pack, then visit
www.ChildHungerEndsHere.com to enter the eight-digit code found on
specially marked packages. For each code entered, the equivalent of
one meal* will be donated to Feeding America. Codes can be redeemed
through August 2012.
In return for entering a code from specially marked packages,
consumers can download their favorite version of "Here's Hope" from
Jewel, Owl City and Jay Sean.
Exclusive interviews, messages and behind-the-scenes videos by each
artist will also be available during the program on
www.ChildHungerEndsHere.com. Consumers will also be able to submit
their zip code to enter their local Feeding America food bank into
a competition to receive an 80,000-meal donation (ten food banks
will receive based on the total number of zip codes entered)
courtesy of ConAgra Foods.
"As a homeless teen, I experienced the epidemic of hunger
first-hand. Now, as a new mother, it breaks my heart to know that
children suffer from this every day," said Jewel. "I'm honored and
humbled to be able to help those in need through the Child Hunger
Ends Here program and say to our friends and neighbors struggling
with hunger, 'Here's hope.'"
Owl City's Adam Young added:
"When I learned of the hunger crisis affecting kids in my home
state of Minnesota, let alone
nationwide, I was eager to get involved and do my part to help end
this national crisis."
Cash Money recording artist Jay
Sean said: "I've been a New Yorker since I arrived in
the United States to pursue my
music career, and I often see people suffering with various forms
of poverty. I was unaware, however, just how many children were
living without enough food in New York
City and throughout the United
States. I know music can feed the soul and I'm hopeful that
through this program, it can help feed America's young people, as
well."
In addition to partnering with celebrity talent, ConAgra Foods
is enlisting its own talent for the company's Week of Service,
March 5-10. Employees at locations
nationwide will volunteer at food banks, pack boxes of food and
serve meals. The company hopes to exceed the 3,000 hours employees
volunteered during last year's Week of Service.
ConAgra Foods is Feeding America's Leadership Partner in the
fight to end child hunger. The company and the ConAgra Foods
Foundation have collectively donated more than 275 million pounds
of food and invested more than $36 million
dollars to combat child hunger since 1993. The Foundation,
the philanthropic organization primarily funded by ConAgra Foods,
is in the midst of a $10 million,
5-year commitment to Feeding America, the largest donation ever
made to Feeding America specifically to fight child hunger.
"With the launch of 'Here's Hope' as the official kick-off to
the third year of the Child Hunger Ends Here Campaign, Feeding
America celebrates our long-standing partnership with ConAgra Foods
— a company that has committed time, food and funds to Feeding
America with both passion and purpose," said Vicki Escarra, president and CEO of Feeding
America. "With the help of friends, neighbors and music fans across
the country, we know we can continue to make a positive difference
in the lives of children in need."
For more information, visit www.ChildHungerEndsHere.com. You can
also follow the discussion at www.facebook.com/ConAgraFoods, or
tweet along by following www.twitter.com/ConAgraFoods and using
#ChildHungerEndsHere.
*Enter the 8-digit code and a monetary donation will be made
to help provide one meal through Feeding America's network of food
banks, up to a maximum of 3 million meals for codes entered through
8/31/12. Valid in U.S. only. $1
donated = 8 meals secured by Feeding America on behalf of local
food banks.
About ConAgra Foods
ConAgra Foods, Inc., (NYSE: CAG), is one of North America's leading food companies, with
brands in 97 percent of American households. ConAgra Foods provides
some of America's long-time favorites. Consumers can find Chef
Boyardee, Egg Beaters, Hebrew National, Hunt's Tomato Sauces and
Ketchup, Marie Callender's,
Orville Redenbacher's, PAM,
Reddi-wip, Slim Jim Meat Sticks and Beef Jerky and many other
ConAgra Foods brands in grocery, convenience, mass merchandise and
club stores. ConAgra Foods operates ReadySetEat.com, an interactive
recipe website that provides consumers with Easy Dinner Recipes and
more. ConAgra Foods also has a strong business-to-business
presence, supplying frozen potato and sweet potato products as well
as other vegetable, spice and grain products to a variety of
well-known restaurants, foodservice operators and commercial
customers. For more information, please visit us at
http://www.conagrafoods.com.
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 http://www.feedingamerica.org. Find
us on Facebook at facebook.com/FeedingAmerica or follow our news on
Twitter at twitter.com/FeedingAmerica.
About Jewel
Jewel is an acclaimed American singer, songwriter, actress,
poet, painter and philanthropist. The four-time Grammy nominee,
hailed by the New York Times as a
"songwriter bursting with talents," has enjoyed career longevity
rare among her generation of artists. After tremendous success and
more than 27 million albums sold, Jewel released her debut country
album, Perfectly Clear, in June
2008, which garnered her spot at #1 on the Billboard country
album charts. Shortly after Perfectly Clear, Jewel debuted
her first-ever independent release, Lullaby, in a
partnership with Fisher-Price® and Somerset Entertainment. In 2010,
she released her sophomore follow-up album, Sweet and Wild, which
she wrote and produced. In 2011 Jewel released The Merry Goes
'Round, the follow up to her best-selling album "Lullaby," on
Somerset Entertainment's Fisher-Price label. The album includes of
songs both children and their parents can enjoy together and was
named by itunes as best children's album of the year. She currently
lives on a working ranch in Stephenville,
Texas with her husband, World Champion bull-riding
superstar, Ty Murray and their baby
Kase Townes Murray.
About Owl City
Owl City exploded onto the scene with the success of his major
label debut Ocean Eyes. Released by Universal Republic Records in
July 2009, the album topped the
Billboard Rock, Alternative, and Dance/Electronic charts and was
certified platinum in the U.S. It also spawned the quadruple
platinum hit "Fireflies," which hit #1 in 24 countries including
twice in the U.S. Following his debut release, Owl City went on his
first headlining tour and sold out shows across 4 continents,
scarcely taking a break until it was time to record a new album. In
the winter of 2010, the electro-pop aficionado went back into the
basement where it all began and recorded his sophomore release All
Things Bright and Beautiful, which was released on June 14th, 2011. That same week, Owl City kicked
off another worldwide headlining tour bringing with him some new
songs as well as his exciting live show. The 76 date trek took the
band across North America,
Europe, Asia, and Australia and as the All Things Bright and
Beautiful World Tour drew to a close, the Owl City – Live from Los
Angeles DVD was released. Owl City is currently working on a new
album tentatively set for a Summer 2012 release.
About Jay Sean
Jay Sean is the international
pop/R&B superstar best known for his back-to-back 2009 smash
hits, "Down," featuring Lil Wayne,
and "Do You Remember," featuring Sean
Paul. Combined, these two singles have sold more than 8
Million copies worldwide, with "Down" going to #1 on the Billboard
hot 100 and garnering more than 112 million views on
YouTube. This catapulted Jay
Sean and his U.S. debut album ALL OR
NOTHING, into a league reserved for
few. "Down" also became Cash Money's first track to snag the
#1 spot on the Top 40 Radio Chart. The album was followed by the
now worldwide platinum single,"2012 (It Ain't the End)," featuring
hotly-tipped rapper and singer Nicki Minaj, and "Hit the Lights,"
featuring world renowned rapper Lil
Wayne. Set to release his Cash Money Records/Universal
Republic follow-up in 2012, the highly-anticipated album, the
singer's fourth, is the strongest realization of his vision to
date: a lethal combination of pop, R&B and dance music that
bridges Jay Sean's musical
interests.
www.conagrafoods.com
www.childhungerendshere.com
SOURCE ConAgra Foods