Jewel-Osco, a leading Midwest food and drug retailer, and FOX Chicago, are teaming up during September’s Hunger Action Month to help generate awareness about hunger while raising 2.5 million meals to benefit families served by food banks across Chicagolan
Jewel-Osco, a leading Midwest food and drug retailer, and FOX Chicago, are teaming up during September’s Hunger Action Month to help generate awareness about hunger while raising 2.5 million meals to benefit families served by food banks across Chicagoland and Northwest Indiana.
Throughout September, Jewel-Osco will be collecting cash and food donations from the public at all of its 184 stores, with a goal of raising $500,000 in cash donations and 250,000 pounds in food contributions-enough to provide 2.5 million meals that will feed over 223,000 needy families.
Under Jewel-Osco’s “stuff the truck” in-store campaign, shoppers will be challenged to fill as many trailer trucks with food as possible by donating canned and packaged goods. All donations will benefit the Greater Chicago Food Depository, the Northern Illinois Food Bank, the Food Bank of Northwest Indiana, the Peoria Area Food Bank, and the River Bend Food Bank.
For its part, FOX Chicago will air a series of public service announcements, news reports and conduct online fundraising efforts. The station will also broadcast live remotes during its Good Day Chicago weekday morning show from various Jewel-Osco store locations.
“We are very excited to have FOX Chicago as a partner in this important effort,” Keith Nielsen, president of Jewel- Osco, said in a written statement. “Working together, and with the generosity of the giving public, we can provide meals to many needy families in our community.”
Hunger Action Month is the creation of Feeding America (formerly America’s Second Harvest), including all food banks participating in this effort.
The Greater Chicago Food Depository, Chicago’s food bank, is a nonprofit food distribution and training center that donates and purchases food through a network of 600 pantries, soup kitchens and shelters to 500,000 adults and children in Cook County every year.
Northern Illinois Food Bank is Illinois’ second largest charitable hunger-relief organization that distributed over 22 million pounds of food in 2007 through its network of 520 feeding sites in 13 northern Illinois Counties that surround Cook County.
The Food Bank of Northwest Indiana has served all of Lake and Porter Counties since 1982. A nonprofit organization, the FBNI serves 90 partner agencies and has distributed more than 30 million pounds of food since its incorporation, and provides food and hope to more than 70,000 Hoosiers in Lake and Porter counties.
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