Los Angeles Regional Food Bank Receives $28,000 Grant From Hunger Is To Fight Childhood Hunger

    LOS ANGELES, CA, December 11, 2014 /24-7PressRelease/ -- The Los Angeles Regional Food Bank has received a $28,000 grant from Hunger Is to help solve childhood hunger in their community. The Los Angeles Regional Food Bank, a member of the Feeding America network of food banks, was nominated by the managers of over a dozen Vons and Pavilions stores* in the Los Angeles County region to receive this grant, which was made possible by customers who contributed generously during a month-long, in-store fundraiser this spring. Hunger Is, the joint charitable program of The Safeway Foundation and the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF) featuring Academy Award -nominated actress and Hunger Is Ambassador Viola Davis, raised more than $4.6 million from shoppers throughout the 1,300 Safeway family of stores across the country, as well as through online contributions, to support eradicating childhood hunger in America.

Hunger Is allowed the local stores to identify an organization to receive the grant to help make a difference in their own community. The $28,000 Hunger Is grant will support local child hunger-relief efforts in providing sufficient and healthy meals to local children in need, including supporting the L.A. Regional Food Bank's BackPack Program. With support from community partners, the Food Bank is able to provide support to 2,650 children at 13 sites every week.

"We're very grateful to receive this Hunger Is grant and the recognition of the Los Angeles regional Vons and Pavilions store managers for our commitment to hunger-relief," L.A. Regional Food Bank President & CEO, Michael Flood said. "It is imperative that the children in our community have basic necessities like food in order to succeed, and this grant will most certainly make a difference. We thank everyone who donated to the campaign - together, we are solving hunger."

To learn more about the Hunger Is campaign, visit http://www.HungerIs.org. For ways to get involved in hunger-relief efforts locally, visit http://www.lafoodbank.org.

*Vons and Pavilions stores (Safeway-family stores) that supported the Food Bank included Gardena, Canoga Park, Agoura Hills, Covina, Los Angeles, Northridge, Redondo Beach, West Covina, Pasadena, West Hills, Sherman Oaks, Torrance, Rolling Hills Estates, Glendale, Inglewood, West Hollywood, Malibu, Palmdale, Long Beach and Arcadia.

About the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank
For 41 years, the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank has worked to mobilize resources in the community to alleviate hunger. With a vision that no one goes hungry in Los Angeles County, the Food Bank has distributed 1 billion pounds of food since its inception. It provides food to 280,500 people weekly and in 2013 distributed 60 million pounds of food. The Food Bank collects food from hundreds of resources, which - with the help of 33,000 volunteers annually - it distributes through a network of more than 680 partner agencies at more than 1,000 distribution and program sites. In addition, 97 percent of monies raised and in-kind donations go directly to programs. Our efficiency and effectiveness led the LA Business Journal to name the Food Bank as the "Nonprofit Organization of the Year" among large local organizations in 2013. For more information or to get involved, visit: http://www.lafoodbank.org

About Hunger Is
Hunger Is, a joint charitable program of The Safeway Foundation and the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF), is designed to build awareness and raise funds in an effort to eradicate childhood hunger in America. Funds raised through Hunger Is directly benefit programs focused on combating childhood hunger and improving health-related outcomes.

Through the Hunger Is Advisory Committee (HIAC), Hunger Is works together with the leading hunger organizations including Drexel University, Center for Hunger-Free Communities; Feeding America; Food Research and Action Center (FRAC); New York City Coalition Against Hunger; Share Our Strength's No Kid Hungry campaign; and WhyHunger. The HIAC provides guidance in defining and addressing needs and makes funding recommendations for approval by The Safeway Foundation and EIF Boards of Directors. For more information, visit http://www.HungerIs.org.

About The Safeway Foundation
Founded in 2001, The Safeway Foundation supports causes that impact our customers' lives. Safeway stores provide the opportunity to mobilize funding and create awareness in our neighborhoods through the generous contributions by our customers, our employees' passion and partnerships with our vendors. We focus on giving locally in the areas of health and human services, hunger relief, education and helping people with disabilities. Safeway Inc. and The Safeway Foundation have invested $1 billion in our neighborhoods since 2001. For more information about The Safeway Foundation, visit http://www.safewayfoundation.org.

About Feeding America
Feeding America is the nationwide network of 200 food banks that leads the fight against hunger in the United States. Together, we provide food to more than 46 million people through 60,000 food pantries and meal programs in communities across America. Feeding America also supports programs that improve food security among the people we serve; educates the public about the problem of hunger; and advocates for legislation that protects people from going hungry. Individuals, charities, businesses and government all have a role in ending hunger. Donate. Volunteer. Advocate. Educate. Together we can solve hunger. Visit http://www.feedingamerica.org, find us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.

About the Entertainment Industry Foundation
Founded in 1942, the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF) is a multifaceted organization that occupies a unique place in the world of philanthropy. By mobilizing and leveraging the powerful voice and creative talents of the entertainment industry, as well as cultivating the support of organizations (public and private) and philanthropists committed to social responsibility, EIF builds awareness and raises funds, developing and enhancing programs on the local, national and global level that facilitate positive social change. For more information, visit http://www.eifoundation.org.

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