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Rivals ConAgra, P&G Join Forces to Help End Child Hunger in America

Longtime rivals ConAgra Foods and Procter & Gamble have teamed up to help Feeding America tackle the ongoing issue of childhood hunger in the US with the 2014 Child Hunger Ends Here campaign, through which the companies hope to help donate up to 7 million meals to the more than 20 percent of children across the country that are food insecure.

By Jennifer Elks | Published 10 years ago | About a 4 minute read

Specially marked packages of 42 ConAgra Foods and P&G brands (including Banquet, Chef Boyardee, Healthy Choice, Hunt’s, Pampers, Bounty, Tide and Pantene) will feature 8-digit codes — for each code entered on the campaign website or Facebook page from March through August 2014, ConAgra or P&G, respectively, will donate the monetary equivalent of one meal (11.1¢) to Feeding America. Codes can be entered through June 2014 for P&G brands and August 2014 for ConAgra Foods brands.

While entering codes, consumers will be able to submit their zip codes to support the local Feeding America food bank serving their community. Up to ten local food banks with the highest number of zip codes entered within their service area will receive the monetary equivalent of a 100,000-meal donation ($11,111).

The campaign has also enlisted the help of country singer Hunter Hayes, who will help raise awareness for child hunger while encouraging consumers to take action by entering the codes found on the companies’ participating products. And for every download of Hayes’ new single, "Invisible" — which brings visibility to the nearly 16 million children who, according to the USDA, are living in food-insecure households in the US — the campaign will also donate 11.1¢ to Feeding America, up to 1 million meals. The campaign will also be supported with retail promotions, national TV integrations and a social media campaign.

"I'm proud to partner with ConAgra Foods' Child Hunger Ends Here program to share the message of hope in the fight against child hunger," says Hayes, who has worked with the program since 2012. "My new single 'Invisible' speaks to anyone who has ever felt outcast, alone or invisible, including children who suffer from food insecurity. Hungry kids are in our schools, our neighborhoods and even right next door."

To help drive the message home, Hayes will attempt to break the Guinness World Record of concerts played in a 24-hour period this May, according to Billboard. In “Hunter Hayes' 24 Hour Road Race to End Child Hunger,” the singer will set out to perform 10 concerts in five states on May 9, beginning on "Good Morning America" at 8 am in New York City, and hitting venues in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut and New Jersey before winding up with a 5 am set at the Trocadero in Philadelphia.

Feeding America says longtime partner P&G has donated $2.8 million to the hunger cause since 2007, and ConAgra donated the equivalent of 4.6 million meals as part of the 2013 Child Hunger Ends Here campaign. The companies’ joint participation doubles the brands participating in Child Hunger Ends Here, making it easier for consumers to join the fight against child hunger.

"We are incredibly grateful for ConAgra Foods' ongoing commitment to fight domestic child hunger, and we are delighted that this year our longtime partner P&G will join the robust Child Hunger Ends Here program," says Bob Aiken, CEO of Feeding America. "Through our national network of food banks, we help feed 14 million children each year, which we could not accomplish without the support of our partners and the engagement of their consumers."

In January, Project 7 rather appropriately teamed up with 7UP for a campaign to “make every bottle count.” Through November, specially marked 20 oz. bottles of 7UP sold in the US will feature a unique code under the cap — buyers can then log onto the Make Your Bottle Count website and enter their code to choose one of 7 areas of need — Feed the Hungry, Heal the Sick, Hope for Peace, House the Homeless, Quench the Thirsty, Teach them Well and Save the Earth — that they would like 7UP’s donation from their purchase to benefit.