ConAgra Foods Announces Community Effort Raised More Than 1 Million Meals to Help Shine the Light on Hunger

[3BL Media]

ConAgra Foods, Inc., announced today that the community exceeded this year’s goal of raising 1 million meals for the hungry through the fifth annual “Shine the Light on Hunger” campaign. This year’s campaign achieved unprecedented results, raising the equivalent of 1,032,835 meals through both in-kind and cash donations to Food Bank for the Heartland.  “Thanks to the generosity of our community, there will be fewer people wondering where their next meal will come from or whether they’ll even be getting a meal,” said Chris Kircher, vice president of corporate affairs and president of the ConAgra Foods Foundation. “ConAgra Foods would like to thank everyone – individuals and businesses alike – who came together and made this year’s Shine the Light On Hunger campaign such a success.”

ConAgra Foods, Inc., announced today that the community exceeded this year’s goal of raising 1 million meals for the hungry through the fifth annual “Shine the Light on Hunger” campaign. This year’s campaign achieved unprecedented results, raising the equivalent of 1,032,835 meals through both in-kind and cash donations to Food Bank for the Heartland. In recognition of this accomplishment, ConAgra Foods today lit the top of its iconic “food barrel tree” located on the ConAgra Foods campus at the corner of 10^th and Farnam Streets.  

“Thanks to the generosity of our community, there will be fewer people wondering where their next meal will come from or whether they’ll even be getting a meal,” said Chris Kircher, vice president of corporate affairs and president of the ConAgra Foods Foundation. “ConAgra Foods would like to thank everyone – individuals and businesses alike – who came together and made this year’s Shine the Light On Hunger campaign such a success.”
 
The success of the Shine the Light on Hunger campaign was possible because of partnerships with Downtown Omaha Inc. and the City of Omaha. 
 
The focal point of the “Shine the Light on Hunger” campaign was the ConAgra Foods ice skating rink, where skaters enjoyed the outdoor rink while giving back to the community at the same time. Nearly 21,000 people, a record number, took to the ice, raising $125,000 for Food Bank for the Heartland via rink admission and concession sales alone. The ConAgra Foods Foundation matched donations to Food Bank for the Heartland dollar-for-dollar up to $100,000. Considering that each dollar raised equates to three meals for those in need, these donations played a major role in reaching the one million meal goal. In addition, community members donated more than 235,000 pounds of food to Food Bank for the Heartland, the equivalent of 183,593 meals for those in need. When combined with donations from other community efforts, these results exceeded this year’s goal and easily surpassed previous year’s campaign efforts.
 
“The more than 1 million meals raised by the community truly makes a big difference and couldn’t come at a better time,” said Susan Ogborn, president and CEO of Food Bank for the Heartland. “During this challenging economic time, the need in our community is greater than ever. The 1 million meals are enough to serve 11,000 people for one month. We are so grateful for this support and the commitment it shows to eliminating hunger in Nebraska and Iowa.”
 
Omaha’s nonprofit organization, Food Bank for the Heartland, will distribute more than 11 million pounds of food and household products to families in Nebraska and Southwest Iowa this year. Food Bank for the Heartland works with 325 agencies to benefit those in need. Today, more than 92,000 children in the 93 counties served by Food Bank for the Heartland struggle, according to Feeding America’s Map the Meal Gap: Child Food Insecurity 2011. Douglas County has the most children at risk for hunger (26,970) followed by Sarpy County (7,600) in Nebraska, and Woodbury County in Iowa.
 
About ConAgra Foods
ConAgra Foods, Inc., (NYSE: CAG), is one of North America's leading food companies, with brands in 97 percent of America’s households. Consumers find Banquet, Chef Boyardee, Egg Beaters, Hebrew National, Hunt’s, Marie Callender’s, Orville Redenbacher’s, PAM, Peter Pan, Reddi-wip, Slim Jim, Snack Pack and many other ConAgra Foods brands in grocery, convenience, mass merchandise and club stores. 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 athttp://www.conagrafoods.com.
 

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