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Contact: Judyth Collin
Alameda County Community Food Bank and Kraft Foods will team up on
05 June 2007 -- (Oakland, CA) On June 5, Hunger Awareness Day, the Alameda County Community Food Bank will be recognized by Kraft Foods, Inc for its leadership in fighting hunger and providing healthy, nutritious foods to the more than 40,000 low-income people each week. The Food Bank is one of 10 food banks nationwide to be recognized by Kraft, who is commemorating the 10th anniversary of the Kraft Community Nutrition Program, an innovative partnership that has provided more than one billion servings of fresh foods to people in need and $26 million dollars in grants to food banks. Kraft is the presenting sponsor for the Food Bank's Empty Bowls event on Tuesday, June 5, 5:30 - 7:30 pm. The event is to raise awareness of the problem of hunger in Alameda County and to support the hunger relief efforts of the Food Bank. Earlier in the morning on Tuesday at 10 am, Kraft Foods will deliver a donated truck load of groceries and Kraft products to the Food Bank. "At Kraft, we applaud the Alameda County Community Food Bank for its exemplary efforts to help provide nutritious, high quality fresh foods to families and children in need," said David Brearton, Kraft's Executive Vice President of Global Business Services & Strategy. "We are pleased to be able to partner with community leaders to pioneer ways to feed the greatest number of people in need with highly nutritious food from a variety of sources." To date, the Food Bank has received $148,000 in grants from Kraft’s Community Nutrition Program, which has been used to deliver fresh produce in the community, distribute food bags to school children and distribute emergency foods to especially vulnerable populations. Kraft’s innovative program works with partners like the Food Bank to create long term change in fighting hunger and improve the quality and nutrition of food available to low-income adults, children and families in need. The program increases the collection and distribution of non-shelf-stable food, including fresh produce, prepared food and other nutritious food, by providing food banks and food rescue organizations with the necessary funds to improve infrastructure, such as purchasing refrigerated equipment and trucks and training staff. "We are honored that Kraft selected us as a grantee," said Suzan Bateson, executive director of the Food Bank. "With support from Kraft, we grew our distribution of fresh fruits and vegetables significantly―fresh produce currently represents 40 percent of our product. We definitely would not be where we are today without their help." More than 35 million people in the United States, including 13 million children, are at risk of hunger. In Alameda County, one in three children and more than 240,000 people face hunger every day. Community members interested in learning more about the Food Bank and how they can help fight hunger on Hunger Awareness Day can visit www.accfb.org. To learn more about Kraft Foods’ Community Nutrition Program, visit www.kraft.com.
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