Sadly, children wake up hungry in poor nations all over the world, but it is shocking that in the prosperous U.S., some 17.2 million children live in food insecure households -- or the less politically correct term poverty -- and the annual rate of food hardship in 2010 was 18.0 percent.
Beech-Nut – teaming up with spokesperson TV actress Melissa Joan Hart -- is making a major effort to help by asking consumers to fight childhood hunger by sharing a virtual jar of baby food through its “A Jar For A Jar” Facebook page. Facebook users can match Beech-Nut by donating a jar of food to humanitarian and hunger-relief agency Feed The Children – with a goal of donating one million jars to families in need.
“As a family-owned company, our priorities and investments reflect our values; we work hard to provide a better future for our children and for the communities in which we live,” says Jim Schneider, president and CEO of Amsterdam, N.Y.-based Beech-Nut Nutrition Corp., a subsidiary of Hero AG in Lenzburg, Switzerland. “We’re investing in new technologies to be more responsible stewards of the environment, and we are striving to provide greater access to natural, nutritious foods for all young children -- regardless of their families’ circumstance or other hardship.”
This effort highlights Beech-Nut’s ongoing commitment to Oklahoma City-based nonprofit Feed The Children, whose endeavors it has supported for nearly two decades, most recently donating $750,000 in product to help survivors of the recent tornado outbreaks.
“The fight against childhood hunger is a never-ending battle,” acknowledged Feed The Children spokesman Tony Sellars. “This campaign will allow everyone across the country to join in the effort to provide nutritional support to families in need.”
