Effort to Help Offset Increased Demand on Foodbanks Due to Rising Food Costs LOS ANGELES, Aug. 5
LOS ANGELES, Aug. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- High School Musical actress Monique
Coleman and America's Second Harvest -- The Nation's Food Bank Network --
kicked off the ConAgra Foods Foundation "Full Kids Full Potential" campaign
today. Hundreds of kids volunteered at the Hollywood and Highland complex
today, filling shopping bags with donated food that will be distributed by the
Los Angeles Regional Foodbank. The event was held to raise awareness of the
significant increase in demand that foodbanks across the country are currently
experiencing. The campaign is inspired by the ConAgra Foods Foundation
community involvement platform, "Nourish Today, Flourish Tomorrow," which
reinforces the importance of feeding kids well, so they do well in school.
Coleman handed out her exclusive "Fight Childhood Hunger" lunch bag to the
first 500 kids who packed shopping bags full of food products donated by
ConAgra Foods Foundation including Chef Boyardee, Orville Redenbacher, Snack
Pack, Manwich and Peter Pan. Coleman designed the special edition lunch bags
as part of a national retail campaign benefiting America's Second Harvest.
Families can also visit the ConAgra Foods Foundation Web site at
http://www.NourishKidsToday.org to find tips on organizing food drives so that
kids can get involved and raise awareness of the hunger issue in their
communities.
"Kids are getting ready to head back to school and it's important to
ensure that they have full stomachs with the balanced meals they need to reach
their full potential," said Coleman. "I hope our efforts today inspire kids
across the country to organize their own food drives to help hungry kids."
The current state of the economy is making it increasingly difficult for
working parents to make ends meet. Many parents are being forced to make the
difficult decision between paying the bills and putting food on the table.
More families are turning to food banks for relief.
"Over the past year, America's Second Harvest has seen a 20 percent
increase in demand for food relief services in foodbanks across the country,"
said Michael Flood, Executive Director Los Angeles Regional Foodbank. "The
reality is that foodbanks are finding it difficult to keep pace with the
increased demand."
More than 12 million American children -- that's one in six -- go hungry
each year(1) -- they don't get enough food and nutrients to live active,
healthful lives. The risks associated with childhood hunger go beyond simply
missing meals. It means missing vital nutrients required for healthy
development and productive lives. Even a short period of malnourishment --
not eating a complete, balanced diet -- can have irreversible effects on a
child's physical, emotional and cognitive development
"Child hunger in America is an invisible problem and The ConAgra Foods
Foundation is leading the charge to fight this issue," said Chris Kircher,
president of the ConAgra Foods Foundation. "But it takes more than food to
fight hunger which is why the Foundation's platform, Nourish Today, Flourish
Tomorrow, seeks to meet immediate needs as well as find long-term solutions in
the areas of child hunger and nutrition education."
The "Fight Childhood Hunger" lunch bags designed by Monique Coleman are
available for free through a nationwide cause marketing campaign benefiting
America's Second Harvest. For every lunch bag requested, ConAgra Foods will
donate $1 to America's Second Harvest, up to $50,000. The campaign appeared in
a recent newspaper insert and is showcased at food retailers across the
country throughout the month of August.
ConAgra Foods Foundation has partnered with America's Second Harvest since
1993 to address the issue of child hunger in America. The partnership is the
largest corporate initiative solely dedicated to fighting child hunger and has
resulted in donations of more than $25 million to help feed more kids through
child hunger grants and millions of pounds of food, over the past 15 years.
For more information on the Foundation and the Monique Coleman "Fight
Childhood Hunger" lunch bag please visit http://www.nourishkidstoday.org.
About ConAgra Foods Foundation
The ConAgra Foods Foundation's Nourish Today, Flourish Tomorrow platform
is dedicated to raise awareness of the more than 12 million children in
America who are at risk of hunger and don't have enough food to live active,
healthful lives, and to aggressively pursue sustainable solutions in the fight
against child hunger. 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, live balanced lifestyles, and succeed
in school and life. ConAgra Foods Foundation invests in national and local
partnerships with high-impact, not-for-profit organizations, such as America's
Second Harvest, that take an innovative approach to addressing needs in the
core areas of hunger and nutrition education. For more information, please
visit the "About Us" section of the ConAgra Foods Web site at
http://www.conagrafoods.com or http://www.nourishkidstoday.org
About America's Second Harvest
America's Second Harvest -- The Nation's Food Bank Network is the largest
charitable domestic hunger-relief organization in the United States. Through
its network of more than 200 member food banks, America's Second Harvest
annually provides assistance to more than 25 million people in need, including
more than 9 million children and nearly 3 million seniors in all 50 states,
the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Each year, America's Second Harvest
secures and distributes more than 2 billion pounds of food and grocery
products to support feeding programs at approximately 63,000 local charitable
agencies, including food pantries, soup kitchens, emergency shelters,
after-school programs, and Kids Cafes. To learn more, please visit
http://www.secondharvest.org.
About the Los Angeles Regional Foodbank
The Los Angeles Regional Foodbank is a non-profit, charitable organization
established in 1973 and is one of the largest food banks in the United States.
Through a network of nearly 900 charitable agency sites, the Foodbank supplies
enough food for over 500,000 meals each week in Los Angeles County. The
Foodbank is affiliated with America's Second Harvest, the Nation's Food Bank
Network. For more information, visit http://www.lafoodbank.org.
(1) USDA/ERS, Household Food Security in the United States: 2006
SOURCE ConAgra Foods Foundation
