Child Hunger Ends Here

ConAgra has partnered with a few big-names to promote their anti-hunger campaign, Child Hunger Ends Here, running until the end of August.

Tori Kelly, Cody Simpson, and even Justin Bieber have joined with the package-food giant to bring awareness to child-hunger in the USA.

ConAgra Foods’ is donating the monetary equivalent of one meal to Feeding America (one of the largest hunger-relief organizations in the US) for every code entered on their website.

Where do you find the “codes”? On the back of ConAgra products. Sure ConAgra doesn’t have the healthiest options (many are frozen dinners, or microwaveable meals), but from PAM cooking spray, to Orville Redenbacher’s popcorn, you can’t deny the majority of us have their products in our pantries anyway.

What’s “one meal” worth? According to ConAgra, it’s 12.5¢, and they’ll donate up to a maximum of 3 million meals. That doesn’t sounds like much for one of the biggest packaged-food companies in America, but they are committed to a guaranteed minimum donation of 1 million meals (which is equivalent to $125,000).

We could be skeptical, arguing ConAgra is using these artists to promote their brand instead of their cause. But, no matter which company is doing the backing, these recording artists are still bringing awareness to the child-hunger issue at large.

Forget the stereotypes of overweight Americans, the reality is one in six Americans doesn’t have enough food, and nearly a quarter (over 22 per cent) of children in the states live in these food-insecure households. It should go without saying that proper nutrition for kids is crucial.

How are these musicians helping? Well, Justin Bieber produced a ripple of international media attention when he pledged to fill Whitney Elementary School’s pantry for the year, after giving out over $150,000 of food packages to these students in Las Vegas.

But it’s the dimpled, curly-haired YouTube phenom Tori Kelley who’s leading the pack, writing a song for the campaign called “Fill A Heart” and donating proceeds from her North American tour to the organization.

In addition, Aussie teen heartthrob Cory Simpson and GLEE star Amber Riley (aka Mercedes Jones) appealed to their fans by doing covers of Tori’s song.

So this summer, check the back of your groceries for red push-pins marked “Child Hunger Ends Here,” and beyond the campaign, take a few minutes to research an anti-hunger charity in your region—because, although ConAgra hopes child hunger ends this summer, the unfortunate reality is it will probably still need your help into the next year.

Find a food bank in the USA

Find a food bank in Canada