Procter & Gamble (P&G) (NYSE: PG) and Feeding America, the nations largest hunger relief organization, are pleased to announce that P&G's Live, Learn and Thrive global cause has donated $200,000 to help feed the 13 million American children who live in food insecure households each year.
The money will go towards Feeding America's programs aimed at solving child hunger including the Kids Cafe program and the BackPack program. The grant was made possible by P&G Live, Learn and Thrive™ and The Kroger Co.'s (NYSE: KR)"Bringing Hope to the Table®" campaign – a recent initiative where Kroger customers shopped for specially marked P&G products and other participating brands to generate funds and food for hunger relief. The announcement was made today by Vicki Escarra, president and CEO of Feeding America, and David Taylor, Group President of Global Home Products from P&G.
Hunger is a significant issue in the U.S., where 13 million children live on the brink of hunger. Inadequate nutrition can impair both the physical and cognitive development of children. Feeding America currently provides food to 9 of the 13 million children each year. P&G's donation will provide 3,200,000 meals to these children through their programs focused on child hunger. Proper nutrition is essential for healthy growth of all children.
Vicki Escarra, president and CEO of Feeding America stated,"We are extremely grateful to Procter & Gamble and Kroger for their commitment and efforts towards ending child hunger. We would not be able to continue our effort in feeding nearly 9 million children each year without this type of support."
David Taylor, P&G's group president of global home products said,"P&G is proud to partner with Kroger and Feeding America on this Live, Learn and Thrive effort. Through our company's cause, we aim to reach more than 50 million children in need every year with programs that help them get off to a healthy start, receive access to education, and build skills for life. This initiative will make a meaningful difference for the children who face this widely unknown issue in our country."
About Feeding America's programs focused on fighting child hunger:
Kids Cafe Programs:
Kids Cafe's provide free meals and snacks to low-income children through a variety of existing community locations where children congregate such as Boys and Girls Clubs, churches or public schools. The Kids Cafe program is the most expansive child-feeding program in the nation with over 1,700 established Kids Cafes in operation.
About the BackPack Program:
The BackPack™ Program is designed to meet the needs of hungry children at times when other resources are not available, such as weekends and school vacations. Backpacks are filled with nutritious food and distributed to children take home on weekends and holiday vacations.
Procter & Gamble has partnered with Feeding America (formerly known as America's Second Harvest) for over 20 years, providing essential products for needy families, and food for children who would otherwise go hungry. Many essential P&G products cannot be purchased with food stamps, making product contributions that much more valuable to the food banks. Food banks nationwide face a growing challenge, as rising food and gas prices drive many families to rely on food assistance programs for their next meal. In a recent survey conducted by Feeding America, 99 percent of the nations food banks reported between a 15 and 20 percent increase in demand in the last year.
To learn more about child hunger and how you can help please visit: https://www.feedingamerica.org/hunger-in-america/child-hunger-facts
P&G Live, Learn and Thrive™ is the company's global cause and aims to improve life for children in need, ages 0-13, around the world. To learn more about P&G's commitment to children in need through Live, Learn and Thrive, please visit: www.pglivelearnthrive.com. .
About Feeding America
Feeding America is the largest charitable domestic hunger-relief organization in the United States. Through its network of more than 200 member food banks, Feeding America annually provides assistance to more than 25 million people in need, including more than 9 million children and nearly 3 million seniors in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Each year, Feeding America secures and distributes more than 2 billion pounds of donated food and grocery products to support feeding programs at approximately 63,000 local charitable agencies, including food pantries, soup kitchens, emergency shelters, after-school programs, and Kids Cafes. To learn more, please visit www.feedingamerica.org
About Procter & Gamble
Three billion times a day, P&G brands touch the lives of people around the world. The company has one of the strongest portfolios of trusted, quality, leadership brands, including Pampers®, Tide®, Ariel®, Always®, Whisper®, Pantene®, Mach3®, Bounty®, Dawn®, Gain®, Pringles®, Folgers®, Charmin®, Downy®, Lenor®, Iams®, Crest®, Oral-B®, Actonel®, Duracell®, Olay®, Head & Shoulders®, Wella®, Gillette®, and Braun®. The P&G community consists of 138,000 employees working in over 80 countries worldwide. In these countries and beyond, P&G is committed to improving lives for children in need, ages 0-13, through its global corporate cause, Live, Learn and Thrive. Please visit http://www.pg.com for the latest news and in-depth information about P&G, its brands, and Live, Learn and Thrive. Please visit http://www.pg.com for the latest news and in-depth information about P&G and its brands.
About The Kroger Co.
Kroger, one of the nation's largest retail grocery chains, is honored to celebrate its 125th anniversary in 2008. The Company's more than 320,000 associates serve customers in 2,474 supermarkets and multi-department stores in 31 states under two dozen local banners including Kroger, Ralphs, Fred Meyer, Food 4 Less, Fry's, King Soopers, Smith's, Dillons, QFC and City Market. Kroger associates also serve customers in 778 convenience stores, 392 fine jewelry stores and 723 supermarket fuel centers the Company operates. The Company also operates 41 food processing plants in the U.S. Headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, Kroger focuses its charitable efforts on supporting hunger relief, health and wellness initiatives, and local schools and grassroots organizations in the communities it serves. For more information about the Company, please visit our web site at www.kroger.com.
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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.