FirstFruits Marketing of Washington finished its eighth annual Take a Bite Out of Hunger™ program at select retailers with a collective donation of 219,640 pounds of apples to local food banks. This brings the total program donation to more than 2 million pounds of apples over eight seasons.
FirstFruits created Take a Bite Out of Hunger™ with the goal of helping feed the underserved while bringing attention to the problem of food insecurity in the United States. In its eighth year, FirstFruits continues to partner with retailers and wholesalers to make fresh apple donations on behalf of partner retailers to local food banks with the retailer contributing the cost of freight. This year’s participating retailers and wholesalers included AG New England, Barons Market, Bashas’, Charlie’s Produce, Chuck’s Produce, Dave’s Marketplace, Dissmore’s IGA, Frazier Farms Market, Good Food Stores, OK Produce, Raley’s, Roundy’s, Saar’s Market Place, Sobey’s, Stater Brothers, Super 1 Foods and United Supermarkets.
“Thanks to the dedication and support of our retail partners, the Take a Bite Out of Hunger program continues to grow every year,” said Chuck Zeutenhorst, general manager of FirstFruits. “Their participation engaging and educating consumers about the issues surrounding hunger is just as important as their donation of fresh apples to underserved families in their local markets.”
Hunger is not just about being hungry. It’s about food insecurity, or not having regular access to safe, affordable and nutritious foods. As of 2016, just over 12 percent of all U.S. households were food-insecure according to the USDA. Of those, households with children reported food insecurity at a higher rate than those without children: 16 percent compared to just over 10 percent.
The Take a Bite Out of Hunger™ program provides full retail support with campaign-themed polybags and merchandisers, point-of-sale cards and ad slicks. At the conclusion of the program, local press is invited to cover the food bank donations.
For more information about Take a Bite Out of Hunger, please contact East Coast Regional Marketer Dennis Jackson or West Coast Regional Marketer Tim Corkill.
For more information:
Adam Brady
Tel: +1 (912) 541-7726