Although the end of the school year is just days away for many, not all kids will be looking forward to summertime. When school is out, nearly 90 percent of children who rely on free or reduced-price meals via their schools lose that access.1 ConAgra Foods is raising awareness of the increased risk for child hunger this summer beginning May 22 through its 2nd Annual National Hunger Free Summer Day. On this day, people can kick-start their fight against child hunger by watching a video to trigger meal donations, volunteering and learning more about child hunger in their community.
ConAgra Foods partnered with Kid President, Robby Novak, to inspire Americans to take action so that kids can "be awesome this summer." For every view, like or share of Kid President's video through July 31 , the ConAgra Foods Foundation will donate the monetary equivalent of one meal to Feeding America, the nation's leading domestic hunger-relief organization, up to one million meals.2 For more than four years, Novak has dedicated time to ensure kids have access to food––from volunteering at local soup kitchens in his community to packing more than 450,000 meals for kids all over the world. He believes that kids should love every moment of summer and not have to worry about their next meal.
"Summer is a time when kids who receive free or reduced-price meals during the school year may be at greater risk to be hungry; however, child hunger is an issue in every community in our country, 365 days a year," says Kori Reed, vice president, ConAgra Foods Foundation and Cause. "That's why ConAgra Foods and the ConAgra Foods Foundation have been committed to ending child hunger for more than 20 years through community grants and partnerships, nutrition education for children and families, donating its food and engaging people across the country to take action and join us in the fight."
Hunger Free Summer Grants
Half of the ConAgra Foods Foundation's $10 million commitment over five years to Feeding America is dedicated to Hunger Free Summer grants. The ConAgra Foods Foundation is Feeding America's leadership partner in the fight against child hunger. Now in its fifth summer, the Hunger Free Summer program has supported the delivery of 13.8 million meals to children struggling with hunger when school's out.
"Many people think of summer as a time where kids are carefree, but, unfortunately, that may not be the reality for kids who won't receive free or reduced-price meals via their schools," says Bob Aiken, CEO of Feeding America. "We're thrilled to partner with the ConAgra Foods Foundation again this year to help support our network of food banks with their summer-feeding programs, designed with kids in mind."
This summer, 26 food banks in 18 states will use grants funded by the ConAgra Foods Foundation––ranging from $20,000 to $50 ,000––to expand their summer feeding programs, bringing more healthy meals to more children during the summer. Each grant recipient will implement either an innovative or scalable program that will benefit an unmet need or audience to best serve their community.
"Through the City Harvest Fruit Bowl program, we provide nutritious snacks to day care, pre-school and after school programs, some of which transition into day camps during the summer," says Jilly Stephens, Executive Director of City Harvest, a grant recipient dedicated to feeding New York City's hungry men, women and children. "With the support of Hunger Free Summer grant, we will deliver more than 130,000 pounds of fresh fruit and low-fat dairy snacks, free of charge, for some 6,000 children."
Since 1993, through their partnerships with Feeding America, ConAgra Foods and the ConAgra Foods Foundation have provided more than 355 million pounds of food and invested more than $38 million in capacity building, child hunger programs and groundbreaking research.
