Child Hunger Programs

Child Hunger Programs

Programs That Help

Food is an enabler of hope, which is the basis for the ConAgra Foods Foundation’s mission. In the last decade, hunger relief agencies have found that the greatest increase in hungry Americans has been among the working poor, those families where at least one parent, if not both parents are employed, but despite their hard work, they cannot always make ends meet. These families face incredibly difficult decisions of choosing between putting food on the table, paying rent and utilities, or purchasing prescription medicine.

Child Hunger Programs & Initiatives

The ConAgra Foods Foundation is the launch partner of Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry™ campaign. Through our partnership with Share Our Strength, we hope to build a stronger community of people passionate about ending child hunger. Launching in the fall of 2010, those who sign the pledge commit to adding their voice and efforts to help end childhood hunger in America by 2015.

In September 2009, in partnership with Feeding America, the Foundation established the ConAgra Foods Fund to Fight Child Hunger. The purpose of the Fund is to both meet critical child hunger needs in communities within Feeding America’s network of food banks and to find innovative solutions for the future. The Fund may be used to expand an existing child hunger program, support research to extend the knowledge about child hunger or provide the seed money to start a new program within the Feeding America network. This initiative builds on the Foundation’s long-term commitment to fund and support program needs at a local level across the Feeding America network.

The school BackPack™ Program helps ensure children have access to food during weekends and school vacations. Serviced as a partnership between food banks and an agency, children in need get a backpack filled with nutritious foods. This food helps to provide nourishment during the times when children might not receive food, such as weekends and school vacations. The backpacks allow for discreet transportation of the food from school to home.

Kids Cafe, a safe-haven, after-school program of Feeding America, is one of the most extensive child-feeding programs in the nation. The ConAgra Foods Foundation has funded the startup and reinforcement grants for hundreds of Kids Cafes across the country. A partnership between a local food bank and an agency such as a Boys & Girls Club, Kids Cafes are places where kids can get adult supervision, do homework and other educational activities, engage in physical exercise, and get a balanced meal before they go home. ConAgra Foods was the first to fund the Kids Cafe program nationwide.

Distribution truck grants allow food banks to get food to those who need it most. There is enough food to feed everyone in the United States – the challenge is getting it to the people who need it. The ConAgra Foods Foundation has purchased more than 180 trucks for Feeding America food banks to deliver nutritious food. These trucks help feed America's children in need by building the Feeding America network capacity, enabling Feeding America to quickly and safely transport food across the nation to those at risk of hunger. The ConAgra Foods Foundation was the first to fund a national program for vehicle grants to Feeding America’s network of food banks.

ConAgra Foods employees are dedicated to supporting organizations through their personal donations and volunteer efforts in communities across the country. In recognition of our employees' commitment, the ConAgra Foods Foundation awards Nourish Our Community Grants to nonprofit organizations based solely on recommendations from employees. Organizations must be located in the communities where our employees live and work in order to be considered for a Nourish Our Community Grant. The process is driven by employee nominations only. Outside organizations may not apply for these grants without first being nominated by a ConAgra Foods employee.