Feeding America and Kraft Foods Launch "Fill a Bowl, Feed America"

November 12, 2008

Feeding America, formerly named America's Second Harvest–The Nation's Food Bank Network, today, launched"Fill A Bowl, Feed America," its first official call-to-action campaign, which is designed to raise awareness and engage the community in the fight against hunger. The campaign is sponsored by Kraft Foods.

As the program's inaugural partner, Kraft will match consumer donations dollar for dollar up to $200,000. With Kraft's match, each dollar donated by consumers will enable Feeding America to fill 32 bowls for hungry families. Kraft's match alone will help provide up to 3.2 million meals this holiday season.

The leading and largest domestic hunger relief organization in the United States, Feeding America is a network of more than 200 food banks throughout the United States. The food banks are giant warehouses that serve as distribution centers to more than 63,000 food pantries, soup kitchen and other emergency feeding centers. They provide food assistance to more than 25 million people each year living on the brink of hunger.

Kraft Foods, a long-standing mission partner of Feeding America, is an inaugural sponsor of the"Fill a Bowl, Feed America" campaign. With Kraft's support, the campaign is intended to educate the public about the fact that 1 in every 8 Americans face hunger. This statistic is based on USDA figures which find that 35 million Americans are"food insecure" – meaning that they lack consistent access to adequate amounts of nutritious food.

"The face of hunger in America is changing," said Irene Rosenfeld, Chairman and CEO, Kraft Foods."As the leading food company in America, I'm proud that Kraft is stepping up to help families put nutritious meals on their tables. For more than 25 years, in partnership with Feeding America, we've made America's favorite brands available to those in need. Now we're building on our long-standing support."

Feeding America will hold a brand launch event tonight in Los Angeles at STK Restaurant for donors, supporters and friends of Feeding America and the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank, its local member.

The launch of the"Fill A Bowl, Feed America" is one of several elements of an integrated campaign to launch the new brand name of Feeding America, which has been known for the past 28 years variously as Second Harvest, America's Second Harvest and America's Second Harvest–The Nation's Food Bank Network. Several other high-visibility elements will be a part of the new brand launch, including an advertising campaign by the Ad Council titled"1 in 8" – a large scale broadcast, print and online media effort to generate widespread national and local attention of the issue of hunger across all media. The Feeding America Entertainment Council, a team of celebrity spokespeople, including actors, athletes, authors, chefs, musicians, and member of the news media will also be launched in November

In September, the organization began migration to the name Feeding America from America's Second Harvest; now armed with an engagement campaigns to mobilize the public, Feeding America aims to bring more support its way from both individuals and corporations.

"The name change from America's Second Harvest to Feeding America represents a deep commitment to our mission and public engagement on the issue of hunger," said Vicki Escarra, president and Chief Executive Officer of Feeding America."From the research, we know that our new identity also invites the public to understand and commit to fighting hunger, clearly acknowledging that each of us is connected to it. It motivates the public to take action and become educated on the issue. Our efforts to engage the public will have faster results because the name is so direct and action-oriented, our name and mission are synonymous."

The primary objective of the branding change is to more fully engage the public in the fight against hunger. Feeding America recognizes that there has never been a more important time to involve the nation in an all-out effort to help millions of Americans who live on the brink of hunger.


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About Feeding America

Feeding America® is the largest hunger-relief organization in the United States. Through a network of more than 200 food banks, 21 statewide food bank associations, and over 60,000 partner agencies, food pantries and meal programs, we helped provide 5.3 billion meals to tens of millions of people in need last year. Feeding America also supports programs that prevent food waste and improve food security among the people we serve; brings attention to the social and systemic barriers that contribute to food insecurity in our nation; and advocates for legislation that protects people from going hungry. Visit www.feedingamerica.org, find us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.

Kraft's Support of Hunger and Healthy Lifestyles

As America's leading food company, Kraft Foods is taking a stand when it comes to hunger. Since 1997, Kraft has provided more than 1 billion servings of fresh food worldwide. Around the world, Kraft contributes approximately $100 million annually in food and money to community organizations in more than 130 countries. By partnering with organizations, such as Feeding America, Kraft provides much-needed food to hungry people throughout the United States. Kraft is a mission and founding partner of Feeding America.