Feeding America® announced that they are partnering with The Dunkin' Donuts & Baskin-Robbins Community Foundation (DDBRCF) for a $1,000,000, three-year grant that will help support critical Feeding America initiatives nationwide, including the BackPack Program, which provides hungry children with nutritious and easy-to-prepare food to take home on weekends and school vacations when other resources are not available. The grant will also support the School Pantry Program, which helps alleviate child hunger in America through the provision of food to children and their families to take home from school.
The partnership and grant were announced yesterday on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. Attendees included select members of Congress and representatives from Feeding America and The DDBRCF, as well as executives from Dunkin' Brands and leadership franchisees. The event kicked off with a special performance by local Washington D.C. nonprofit, the Teen Angel Project of"One World, One Song," written by the Global Hunger Project for World Hunger Day. (Event images at: http://mm.gettyimages.com/mm/nicePath/gyipa_public?nav=pr217847292)
The DDBRCF grant, the largest donation in the Foundation's history, will be distributed among Feeding America member food banks across the United States.
The DDBRCF has partnered with Feeding America at the national level since 2007 and has donated more than $1,000,000 over the last seven years to support Feeding America and its local food banks. Additionally, over the past seven years, the DDBRCF has addressed the issue of hunger relief through both national and local efforts. Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin-Robbins franchisees have led food drives in the communities they serve and have organized volunteer days at their local food banks to help fill backpacks with nutritious meals for children.
According to Mitch Cohen, a Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin-Robbins Franchisee and Co-Chair of The Dunkin' Donuts & Baskin-Robbins Community Foundation,"Dunkin' Brands and its franchisees are committed to serving the basic needs of our communities throughout the country, each and every day. One of the most pressing needs facing our communities is the fight against hunger, particularly childhood hunger. We are proud to make the largest donation in the Foundation's history to Feeding America to support this cause and look forward to continuing to partner with the Feeding America network of food banks in 2014 and beyond."
Feeding America is the nation's leading domestic hunger-relief charity, with more than 200 member food banks serving all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Feeding America's food banks secure and distribute 3 billion pounds of donated food and grocery products annually through a network of approximately 61,000 food assistance agencies, such as food pantries, soup kitchens, emergency shelters and after-school programs. Thirty-seven million Americans receive food and groceries from Feeding America each year, including nearly 14 million children and 3 million senior citizens and approximately 5.7 million Americans are fed by the Feeding America network every week.
"Forty-nine million people –1 in 6 Americans – struggle with hunger, including nearly 16 million children. And while the economy is recovering, each year more and more people are turning to their local food bank for help," said Maura Daly, Chief Communication and Development Officer at Feeding America."The support of our partners in the fight against hunger has never been more critical and we are extremely grateful to The Dunkin' Donuts & Baskin-Robbins Community Foundation for their generous grant to help us distribute food to those who need it the most."
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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 X.com.
The Dunkin' Donuts & Baskin-Robbins Community Foundation
The mission of The Dunkin' Donuts & Baskin-Robbins Community Foundation is to serve its neighborhoods by taking care of their basic needs: hunger, children's health and safety. The DDBRCF brings together a wide network of stakeholders, including franchisees, crew members and employees to serve their local communities. Launched in 2006, The DDBRCF has granted more than $4,500,000 to local charities.