LOS ANGELES, Oct. 5, 2017 – Hunger Is, a joint charitable initiative of the Albertsons Companies Foundation and the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF), announced today the $30K in 30 Days Project to award an additional $30,000 to organizations that are helping to eradicate childhood hunger in their communities by sharing compelling stories through the power of social media. The $30K in 30 Days Project coincides with the Hunger Is “Hungry for More” campaign currently taking place in more than 2,300 Albertsons Companies grocery stores across the U.S., where customers can make a donation to support local hunger relief programs.
Grantees have been invited to post on social media with #HungerIs to share how they are fighting childhood hunger with help from Hunger Is funding, which focuses on supporting breakfast programs for kids. Each day of the project, Hunger Is will select one of the participating organizations and award them with an additional $1,000 grant to support their respective programs. In addition, that organization’s story will be shared by Hunger Is on its social media channels to raise awareness about the importance of ending childhood hunger in America.
The goal of the $30K in 30 Days Project is to provide a platform for organizations to promote their community work and increase local support of the Hunger Is campaign. Over the past three years, the campaign has raised more than $18 million and awarded grants to over 270 programs addressing childhood hunger, while benefitting more than 200,000 children nationwide.
“In the age of instantaneous communications, we know that people connect with true, heartfelt stories about how people are working to make our neighborhoods and communities better places to live,” said Christy Duncan Anderson, Executive Director of the Albertsons Companies Foundation. “Our in-store “Hunger for More” campaign is making a difference by providing healthy breakfasts to children in need, and we know that sharing these stories can transform a cause into a greater movement.”
“EIF is so proud of the work we do with the Albertsons Companies Foundation on Hunger Is. We are thrilled to support local organizations working to eradicate childhood hunger in their communities,” said Lisa Paulsen of EIF. “The $30K in 30 Days Project will undoubtedly spotlight Hunger Is beneficiary organizations’ inspiring stories and encourage more communities to work together to put an end to this significant issue.”
In September, Academy and Emmy Award®-winning actress and Hunger Is Ambassador Viola Davis used her social channels to announce a $1,000 award to an organization in her home state, the Rhode Island Community Food Bank, which receives Hunger Is funds raised by local Shaw’s stores. She re-posted one of the food bank’s photos of a young boy shopping for food at a food pantry and recounted her own childhood struggle with hunger.
“As a child growing up in Rhode Island, I knew all too well what hunger felt like,” Davis posted. “Today, with support from @HungerIs, the #RhodeIslandCommunityFoodBank is helping to ensure that children like Isaiah have the breakfast they need to be their best. I am thrilled to award this organization with an additional $1,000 grant from #HungerIs to continue this important work in a place that is very close to my heart.”
The Los Angeles Regional Food Bank (LARFB), which receives Hunger Is funds raised by local Albertsons, Vons and Pavilions stores, is another $1,000 grant recipient. The Food Bank shared a video about their children’s breakfast program, which provides bags of breakfast food for at-risk children and youth, so they don’t go hungry over the weekend or during summer months.
“The Hunger Is funding allows us to serve more than 1,300 children on a monthly basis at 18 different sites throughout Los Angeles County,” LARFB Manager of Marketing and Communication Courtney Morra said in the video. “This is a great help to families with children because many of them are reliant on school meals, and when school’s not in session, they really count on help from the food bank to get through the summer months.”
The Hunger Is “Hungry for More” in-store fundraiser is currently running in all Albertsons, Safeway, Vons, Jewel-Osco, Shaw’s, Star Market, Tom Thumb, Randalls, ACME, and other stores in the Albertsons Companies family. The print, broadcast, digital and out-of-home PSA campaign, in which Viola Davis addresses the importance of eradicating childhood hunger in the U.S., will continue to run throughout the year.
For more information about the issue and ways to get involved in the fight against hunger, visit HungerIs.org.