Wednesday, November 12, 2008

New Partnerships for the "New" Hungry

Noting the unique challenges faced by the Texas anti-hunger community, two major corporations revealed new partnerships in the state last week.

In Houston, Kroger, Inc. described a new strategy to support the victims of Hurricane Ike. The supermarket giant has agreed to sell $1.5 million of staple foods "at cost" to a partnership formed by the national groups Feeding America and the Salvation Army, each of which will contribute half the necessary funds. The food will be processed and distributed locally by Texas food banks, who received notable attention for their efficient response to Ike in September.

In San Antonio, the San Antonio Food Bank announced it was one of the first food banks to receive a state-of-the-art "mobile pantry" funded by Kraft Foods, Inc. The mobile pantry concept, which is being funded by Kraft at $4.5 million nationally, allows food banks to distribute food in places with little infrastructure, often in rural or hard-to-reach areas. 

"The face of hunger in America is changing," explained Irene Rosenfeld, Chairman and CEO of Kraft.

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