Singer-songwriter [lastfm]Katharine McPhee [/lastfm]made her mark on the music world after finishing as a runner-up on the fifth season of “American Idol.” However, now she is using her music and star status to help feed children who don’t know where their next meal will come from.
ConAgra Foods has partnered with Feeding America to create the Hunger-Free Summer initiative whose goal is to provide at least 25 percent more meals for children in need over the next five years, and will account for a significant portion of ConAgra Foods Foundation’s goal of delivering one million meals to children in need this summer.
McPhee stated, “This summer, I am going to be traveling across the country to Feeding America food banks from Orlando to Los Angeles – to volunteer my time and, more importantly, to raise awareness about this important issue. I want to challenge every community to come together to help end child hunger in the United States.”
During the school year, 19.5 million children receive free and reduced-price meals at school. But during the summer months, only 2.2 million children participate in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Summer Food Service Program (SFSP), coordinated by many Feeding America food banks across the country. That leaves millions of children at risk of hunger during the summer when school is out. The Hunger-Free Summer initiative aims to close that gap through a $5 million donation from the ConAgra Foods Foundation to Feeding America.
Throughout the month of July, McPhee will travel across the country to other Feeding America food banks to raise awareness. Upcoming locations and dates include:
– Irvine, Calif. – Monday, July 12
– Little Rock, Ark. – Wednesday, July 14
– Houston, Texas – Week of July 26
