Third Annual Hunger Free Summer Campaign Approaches Halfway Point

DETROIT - July 12, 2013 - PRLog -- (July 12, 2013 - Detroit, MI)… Nearly one month into their Hunger Free Summer campaign, Gleaners Community Food Bank of Southeastern Michigan (Gleaners) and the Charter One Foundation have raised $427,000. With the help of generous match sponsors and community donors, Gleaners is already more than halfway to reaching its goal to provide 2 million meals to children in southeast Michigan during the summer months.

In addition to the underwriting support from the Charter One Foundation, donations will be matched dollar-for-dollar by 12 corporate and community partners. Every $1 donated provides six meals to hungry kids.

The fight against childhood hunger intensifies during the summer when programs like the National School Lunch Program are not available. The Hunger Free Summer campaign helps feed the nearly 320,000 children who receive free or reduced-fee meals during the school year. Funds raised through the Hunger Free Summer campaign support Gleaners’ child feeding programs including: School-Based Mobile Pantries, Summer Food Service and Weekend BackPacks.

Gleaners’ School-Based Mobile Pantry(s) reach hungry children in high-need communities by delivering healthy food through a large-scale, one-day food distribution. Each distribution provides up to 150 households with 35-40 pounds of nutritious food, including frozen meat and fresh produce.

Through the Summer Food Service program, lunches are served five days a week at more than 60 sites where an average of 50 children are fed. Distribution sites across Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties will also provide children with Weekend BackPacks containing the equivalent of six meals.

“We are extremely thankful to Charter One Foundation for their leadership in championing the Hunger Free Summer campaign for the past three years; and to our other match donors who are doubling the impact of every donation made by our generous community,” said Gleaners President W. DeWayne Wells. “One in four children in our region lives in poverty – a 28 percent increase over the last decade – making Gleaners’ efforts more important than ever.”

Now through September 3, 2013, donations can be made:

·       Online at www.hungerfreesummer.org

·       Calling 866-GLEANER (453-2637)

·       Text “EAT” to 85944 (a $10 donation will be added to donor’s cell phone bill-message & data rates may apply)

·       Checks by mail: Hunger Free Summer, P.O. Box 1380, Troy, MI 48099

Twitter @HungerFreeSummr and www.facebook.com/HungerFreeSummer

About Gleaners’ Hunger Free Summer:

Donations are matched dollar-for-dollar by: Charter One Foundation, Ford Motor Company Fund, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Epoch Hospitality Group, David & Cherie A. Bazzy, the Joshua (Jim) and Eunice Stone Foundation, Grainger, Delta Air Lines, Andiamo Restaurant Group, Rattlesnake Club, American Specialty Oils, Baker Tilly and Jenkins & Company. Every $1 donation provides six nutritious meals for hungry children in southeast Michigan. Learn more at www.hungerfreesummer.org.

Media Only: For more information, to schedule an interview or feeding site visit, please contact:

Marcy Hayes/C&B Scene (Gleaners): 248.336.8360 or Elizabeth Dryden/Charter One Foundation: 248.226.7750