Higher food costs and rising gas prices could prove to be damaging to the nation’s food banks and their ability to provide adequate emergency food to the nearly 49 million Americans who are currently living at risk of hunger, Feeding America, the network of the nation’s largest food banks announced.

Although recent reports indicate that the economy is beginning to improve and that the unemployment rate is also beginning to shrink, Feeding America’s food banks continue to face significant struggles as America recovers from the worst economic recession in decades.

The Feeding America network of more than 200 food banks and 61,000 local partners are feeding 37 million Americans a year, including nearly 14 million children and 3 million seniors. But with rising operating costs and decreasing supply, a number of factors are contributing to a “perfect storm” of challenges that threaten to leave food banks unable to meet the need in their communities.

Gas prices increased 26% in 2011, adding tremendous costs to transporting food. Increased fuel costs particularly affect rural areas, where populations are less dense. Many food banks support emergency feeding across a vast service area.
Food inflation is also hitting food banks hard. Grocery prices increased an average rate of 6% in the last half of 2011, and food banks have been hard pressed to make up the difference.

Feeding America Food banks have seen significant increases in the price of household staples like milk, which increased in price by nine percent in 2011, and peanut butter, which costs 38% more now than it did a year ago. Rising food prices also mean that healthy, nutritious food becomes further out of reach for many of the clients served by Feeding America, further increasing their reliance on food banks
“A major concern for us is the significant decline in USDA commodities provided to our food banks.

These commodities generally account for about a quarter of the 3 billion pounds of food our food banks distribute each year. This is highly-valued, nutritious food – fruits, vegetables, meat and dairy product. We saw a reduction of about 30 percent last year, and are already experiencing more reductions this year,” said Vicki Escarra, president and CEO of Feeding America.

Donations of food from food manufacturers also declined by about 15% last year, due to increased manufacturing efficiencies.

“We are also deeply concerned about the potential for cuts to Federal hunger-relief programs like SNAP (food stamps) as Congress looks for ways to reduce the deficit. More than 40 million Americans, including many of our clients, rely on SNAP. We understand that there must be reductions in government spending, but cutting anti-hunger programs is penny-wise and a pound foolish,” Escarra said.

“Federal nutrition programs meet an urgent and immediate need. They also reap long term benefits by eliminating the health, educational, and workforce productivity costs associated with hunger and poor nutrition,” Escarra said. “Feeding America urges Congress to maintain robust funding for The Emergency Food Assistance Program, Commodity Supplemental Nutrition Program and SNAP.”

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Breakout electro inspired hip-hop duo Chiddy Bang, comprised of rapper Chidera “Chiddy” Anamege and producer Noah “Xaphoon Jones” Beresin, is partnering with Feeding America, the nation’s largest domestic hunger-relief charity, to launch a Breakfast Food Drive with college fans from 13 markets across the United States. The Feeding America network is comprised of more than 200 member food banks serving all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, and secures and distributes 3 billion pounds of food and grocery products annually.

The band was inspired to name their debut album Breakfast not only from the obvious symbolism (first meal, first album), but also from their genuine belief that a good day always begins with a quality breakfast.  Band member Noah Beresin says, “For us, what separates the good days from the bad days is a good breakfast, so we’re happy to help give people in need a healthy and nutritious breakfast.”

Over 20 student-run organizations (fraternities, sororities, and student clubs) will participate in a Breakfast Food Drive which will take place over a ten-day span beginning Friday, February 24.  The student organizations are encouraged to donate healthy, nutritious breakfast items, such as peanut butter, 100% juice, oatmeal, and canned fruit to the Feeding America food bank in their areas.

The top five donating organizations will all receive a home electronics prize worth $500 (TBC), and the overall largest donating group will also be awarded a free concert from Chiddy Bang this spring. For more details, please visit http://chiddybang.net/feedamerica.

Participating Feeding America member food banks are:

• Capital Area Food Bank (Washington, D.C.)
• Cleveland Food Bank (OH)
• Community Food Share (CO)
• Delaware Food Bank (DE)
• Eastern Illinois Food Bank (IL)
• Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina (NC)
• Food Lifeline (WA)
• Greater Boston Food Bank (MA)
• Los Angeles Regional Food Bank (CA)
• Mid-Ohio Food Bank (OH)
• Mississippi Food Network (MS)
• Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina (NC)

For updated information on Chiddy Bang visit: www.facebook.com/ChiddyBang  or www.chiddybang.net. Follow Chiddy Bang on twitter at www.twitter.com/chiddybang. For photos, bio and other press materials visit: www.emimusicpublicity.net

Visit Feeding America at www.feedingamerica.org. Find it on Facebook at www.facebook.com/FeedingAmerica or follow it on Twitter at www.twitter.com/FeedingAmerica.

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According to a new 30 Hour Famine study, conducted online in January by Harris Interactive, more than half of teens (55%) say social media sites like Facebook and Twitter have made them more aware of the needs of others. This is a huge increase from 2011 when a little more 4 in 10 (44%) said their use of social media made them more aware. The study also says 2 in 3 teens (68%) agree that the benefits of social media outweigh the risks.

According to the study, more than nine out of ten (91%) agree that it’s important to volunteer locally. At the end of this month, some 200,000 teens will go hungry as part of World Vision’s 30 Hour Famine to raise funds and hunger awareness. Since 1992, 30 Hour Famine has raised more than $150 million to fight world hunger. This is the fourth year World Vision has surveyed American youth to get a better idea of what they’re thinking. 30 Hour Famine has close to 30,000 Facebook friends.

“The jump in the number of teens who say social media sites make them more socially aware is a sign of the times,” says Regina Corson, Senior Vice President, Harris Poll, Public Relations and Youth Research at Harris Interactive. Michele Tvedt, World Vision’s 30 Hour Famine Manager says, “It’s exciting to see our youth using the tools at their fingertips like social media to have a direct impact on the world.” Tvedt has personally done The Famine for 13 years, adding up to more than 390 hours over the years.

While many teens will do 30 Hour Famine in late February, others will participate April 27th, 28th^. Teens forsake food for 30 hours to get a taste of what the world’s poorest children face. Prior to the event, teens raise funds by explaining that $1 can help feed and care for a child a day. Teens consume only water and juice as they participate in local community service projects (food banks, soup kitchens and homeless shelters). Last year’s 30 Hour Famine raised $9.5 million to fight hunger. This year’s goal is $10 million.

Tonight, almost 1 billion people worldwide will go to bed hungry. Almost 22,000 children die each day from hunger and preventable diseases. Chronic poverty, affecting half the people on earth, is the cause. Nearly 3 billion people live on less than $2 a day. Funds raised this year for 30 Hour Famine will be sent to 10 countries including Haiti, the Horn of Africa, Burundi, Malawi, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Some 30 Hour Famine funds also address poverty here in the U.S.

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Safeway and Kraft Foods have announced the culmination of the Help Us End Hunger (Every Bag Counts) food drive, a national program helping fight hunger in communities across the country.

With the help of generous Safeway customers, nearly 362,000 bags of groceries were secured for food banks and other hunger relief centers throughout the U.S.  In addition to helping provide products for the food drive, Kraft Foods donated the monetary equivalent of 3 million meals* –$420,000– to local food banks in Safeway’s U.S. operating divisions.

Part of Kraft Foods’ donation helps support the efforts of 100 Safeway stores that sold the most food drive bags for local food banks.  These “Top 100 Food Banks” will receive a monetary grant as part of Kraft Foods’ three million meal donation.

The Help Us End Hunger (Every Bag Counts) food drive was central to Safeway’s end-of-year giving initiative.  High-quality pantry staples were pre-selected and bagged, allowing customers to purchase the bag for a discounted price and place it in a donation barrel that went directly to a local food bank.

“Hunger is a very serious issue in our country that often goes overlooked,” said Larree Renda, Safeway Executive Vice President and Chair of the Safeway Foundation. “Sadly, more than 50 million Americans, or one in six of our neighbors, struggles to put food on their tables.

That’s why we joined with Kraft Foods and encouraged our customers to help us tackle this problem.  The Help Us End Hunger (Every Bag Counts) food drive and Kraft Foods’ meal donation meant that nearly 362,000 families in need had nutritious food.”

Safeway is a longtime hunger relief advocate and an industry leader in environmental sustainability, ethical business practices and effective community outreach.

Safeway upholds an operating philosophy that is rooted in corporate social responsibility and focused on four key fundamentals: People, Products, Community, and the Planet. These fundamentals are “The Heart of Safeway,” bringing together our passion for food and serving our customers with the rapidly developing needs of our communities and our planet.

Kraft Foods has a long-standing commitment to fighting hunger.  The three million meal donation for Help Us End Hunger (Every Bag Counts) is part of Kraft Foods’ “Huddle to Fight Hunger,” a program that has raised more than 25 million meals for Feeding America, the nation’s leading domestic hunger-relief organization.

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The Dunkin’ Donuts & Baskin-Robbins Community Foundation has announced a grant of $102,000 to Feeding America, the country’s largest domestic hunger-relief organization. The donation will help support child hunger relief through Feeding America initiatives such as its 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 DDBRCF grant will be distributed among eight food banks across the United States: Greater Boston Food Bank, Food Bank of Western Massachusetts, Philabundance, Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee, Cleveland Food Bank, Greater Chicago Food Depository, Albuquerque Road Runners and Los Angeles Regional Food Bank. The donation was made possible in part from a grant from the Rich Family Foundation.

The DDBRCF has had a national partnership with Feeding America since 2007 and has donated nearly $1 million to support local food banks. Over the past four 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 filled with nutritious snacks for children.

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.

37 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 receive the Feeding America network every week.

According to Karen Raskopf, Co-Chair of The Dunkin’ Donuts & Baskin-Robbins Community Foundation and Senior Vice President of Communications at Dunkin’ Brands, “Our Foundation is committed to working with Feeding America to help eradicate hunger, particularly childhood hunger, in the communities we serve.

Dunkin’ Brands and our franchisees are proud of our support of this cause and look forward to continuing to support the Feeding America network of food banks in the fight to end hunger.”

“Nearly 49 million people – approximately 1 in 6 Americans – struggle with hunger, including more than 16 million children. Every day, working families in every neighborhood are forced to choose between food, rent and medicine,” said Leah Ray, Feeding America’s Vice President of Corporate Partnerships.

“The support of our partners has never been more crucial, and we are extremely grateful to The Dunkin’ Donuts & Baskin-Robbins Community Foundation for their generous grant to help us combat hunger.”

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