Relieving childhood hunger, together

The 2011 Child Hunger Ends Here (CHEH) campaign will merge consumers, retailers and ConAgra Foods brands in a large-scale effort to stem a stark problem worsened by the nation's economy: nearly one-in-four kids in America is "food insecure," meaning they don't always know where their next meal will come from, according to the latest U.S. Department of Agriculture figures.

"Consumers are taken aback when they hear this statistic. They think it's a shame that it could happen in this country. They want to help but they feel a bit powerless, not knowing where to begin," says Ann Rindone, director of integrated marketing at ConAgra Foods. "The problem exists all over the United States. It's quite possible your child sits next to someone in school, even in middle-class neighborhoods, who is food insecure."

The CHEH program is flexible and collaborative to help stem hunger in markets where participating retailers operate. It also has instant credibility with consumers because it bands together retailers, consumer packaged goods companies and the nation's leading nonprofit food bank, Feeding America.

Through CHEH, ConAgra Foods will donate 2.5 million meals to Feeding America¹ following a campaign that runs from March to August. The simplicity of this donation program is important. People can trigger meal donations to Feeding America by buying ConAgra Foods brands they already love and entering a code at ChildHungerEndsHere.com, which is found on specially marked ConAgra Foods packaging² for the Banquet®, Healthy Choice®, Marie Callender's®, Kid Cuisine®, Chef Boyardee®, Fresh Mixers® and Peter Pan® brands.

Retailers can leverage the CHEH cause by featuring the program in their advertising and merchandising for participating brands and in secondary displays in prominent store locations. Doing this will help reach out to the shoppers who are looking to join the fight.

A centerpiece of the overall campaign will be an NBC and Telemundo special on child hunger in America, along with public service ads, brand TV ads, mobile campaigns, social media/public relations and local events.

CHEH builds on a five-year, $10-million commitment by ConAgra Foods to Feeding America that will result in an additional commitment of $350,000 per year. Since 1993, the company, through the ConAgra Foods Foundation, has donated nearly $40 million and 257 million pounds of food donations to anti-hunger cause initiatives since 1993.

¹ When consumers activate purchase at ChildHungerEndsHere.com and enter an 8 digit code a monetary donation will be made enabling one meal to be secured by Feeding America on behalf of local food banks, up to a maximum of 2.5 million meals for codes entered through 8/31/11. $1 donated=7 meals secured by Feeding America on behalf of local food banks.

² More than 240 million units will be distributed, including 112 frozen items and 34 shelf-stable items.

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
  
• 
  

Post-Holiday: nesting with comfort foods

The quick transition from holiday to post-holiday mindset presents the sharpest contrast of the year for consumers. But it is a positive shift, with people moving from a time of emotional stress and social flux...

Read Full Story

ReadySetEat™ website solves weeknight dinner dilemmas

Meal planners in the 57 percent of households making their dinner decisions within an hour before mealtime* will definitely appreciate the new website ConAgra Foods launched Jan. 4...

Read Full Story

A full-year roadmap to weeknight dinners

Food retailers can gain plenty — up to $700 million in incremental sales, in fact ? by helping households ease the weeknight dinner burden. And it could be as simple as getting each household in the U.S. to buy...

Read Full Story

• Ultra-Convenient Meals, SNAP Strategies, Kids in the Kitchen, and Holiday
• Canned Tomatoes: A Total-Store Sales Engine
• Driving Growth in Frozens
• Family Fun Spices Up October

Retailers can ease weeknight dinner planning by using ConAgra Foods? insights to provide season-focused shopper solutions for Mom.

Watch this Video

View all videos

Sourcing: Target: 35 Dinners Taken Home from Restaurant/person/year Source: NPD 24th Annual Eating Patterns in America, 2009 Population estimate, 2011: 313,232,000  Source: US Census Bureau Cost of In-Home Dinner from Grocery Store: $2.50   Source: Various estimates: NPD cost of in-home meal ($2.37); The Simpledollar.com # of US Groc Stores, $2MM+:  36,000   Source: Progressive Grocer CAG Share of Center Store: 3.43^{2   1}$2MM+ Supermarket   ²IRI 52 Weeks ending 3/29/10

Lowes Helps Local Children in Need

Lowes Foods kicks off Bag Childhood Hunger today, an annual month-long food drive to help fill local food bank pantries and feed hungry children.

SNAP Still an Opportunity, Even as Economy Grows

Most businesses would rather forget that 2008 and 2009 ever happened. But it's now a new year and a new decade, and many economists are predicting that the United States...

LOHAS Shoppers Holding Retailers Accountable

Retailers interested in courting shoppers who fall into the lucrative LOHAS (Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability) consumer segment must adopt a holistic approach...