Harvesters - The Community Food Network Receives $20,000 Grant as Part of Hunger-Free Summer Initiative
MCA Recording Artist Josh Kelley Partners with the ConAgra Foods Foundation and Feeding America to Help Feed Children in Need, Volunteers in Kansas City
Kansas City, Mo. – June 22, 2011 – ConAgra Foods® Foundation and Feeding America® have awarded Harvesters – The Community Food Network $20,000 as part of the Hunger-Free Summer program. In the area served by Harvesters, more than 138,000 children are food insecure, which means they don't always know where their next meal is coming from. The Hunger-Free Summer grant will support Harvesters' "Back Snack" program, which delivers nutritious, kid friendly food items in backpacks at summer school sites on Fridays to children who are at risk of hunger over the weekend.
To bring even more attention to this issue, country singer-songwriter Josh Kelley hit the road earlier this month, visiting food banks across the country to raise awareness of childhood hunger in the United States, including the Harvesters food bank today, June 21. While visiting the food bank, Kelley plans to sing with the children, prepare snacks and pack backpacks as part of the Harvesters' "Back Snack" program.
"Summer is supposed to be a care-free time for children and families. As a dad, I think it's unacceptable that there are millions of children who can't enjoy their summer break because hunger is holding them back," said Kelley. "So this summer, I'm excited to be visiting Feeding America food banks like Harvesters in Kansas City, so that more kids can have the meals they need to have a bright summer and an even brighter future when they return to school."
The unfortunate truth is millions of children in the United States aren't always certain where their next meal will come from. During the school year, 21 million children can count on having lunch each weekday thanks to the United States Department of Agriculture's free and reduced-priced school lunch program available to low-income families. But when school lets out for summer, the vast majority of those children are more likely to face hunger if they don't have access to summer meal programs.
"In the 26 counties we serve, nearly 23 percent of children are struggling with hunger. Receiving this Hunger-Free Summer grant from ConAgra Foods Foundation and Feeding America will allow us to reach more children this summer. We are extremely grateful for the generosity and ongoing support of both the ConAgra Foods Foundation and Feeding America," said Karen Haren, President and CEO of Harvesters – The Community Food Network.
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.
"When we launched Hunger-Free Summer last year, the ConAgra Foods Foundation and Feeding America partnership helped provide more meals to children struggling with hunger," said Kori Reed, vice president of Foundation and Cause at ConAgra Foods. "Building off that momentum, we continue to work together to provide even more meals to more children, while also applying what we learn to make reaching kids during the summer months even more effective."
"We are committed to reduce child hunger and partnerships with leading community organizations are a critical part of that strategy," said Kori Reed, vice president of Foundation and Cause at ConAgra Foods. "Harvesters, a recipient of a Hunger-Free Summer grant, is Feeding America's Food Bank of the Year and now we are supporting their work to serve more children in the greater Kansas City area through Back Snack and other initiatives. This type of partnership is a win-win for kids facing hunger."
For the complete list of 2011 Hunger-Free Summer grant recipients or to learn more about the program, visit HungerFreeSummer.org.
About Harvesters—The Community Food Network
Harvesters is this area's only food bank and was recently named 2011 Food Bank of the Year by Feeding America. Serving a 26-county area of northwestern Missouri and northeastern Kansas, Harvesters provides food and related household products to more than 620 not-for-profit agencies including emergency food pantries, soup kitchens, homeless shelters, children's homes, homes for the mentally disabled and shelters for battered persons. Agencies in Harvesters' network provide food assistance to as many as 66,000 different people each week. Harvesters, which was founded in 1979, is a certified member of Feeding America, a nationwide network of more than 200 food banks, serving all 50 states. For more information, visit www.harvesters.org.
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.
Media Contacts:
Angie Amberg
Office: 314-982-8646
angie.amberg@fleishman.com
Stephanie Childs
Office: 402-240-6258
stephanie.childs@conagrafoods.com
