New commitment from Academy Award-winning actor and humanitarian Angelina Jolie will help anti-hunger campaign ensure kids can access free meals during school closures and every day
Media Contact: Laura Washburn, lwashburn@strength.org
Washington, D.C. - As the coronavirus pandemic bars kids from the school meals they depend on, No Kid Hungry – a national campaign to end child hunger in America – is mobilizing support to ensure these kids can eat. In the past week, tens of thousands of Americans have raised awareness and donated funds on behalf of the nearly 22 million children who rely on school for food. Today, the campaign announced that Academy Award-winning actor and humanitarian Angelina Jolie has donated $1M to provide meals for children from low-income families.
Thanks to this generous outpouring of support, No Kid Hungry is already making an impact on the ground. The campaign has already given $2M to date to 78 organizations across 30 states. This week, the campaign issued new emergency grants to school districts, food banks and community organizations feeding kids nationwide and in Louisiana, Texas, Iowa, Pennsylvania, Missouri, Maine and Oklahoma. A new resource lists state-by-state grant recipients and stories of their work.
“Over the past week, people from all walks of life have risen to the unprecedented challenge of feeding hungry kids during a global pandemic” said Billy Shore, founder and executive chair of Share Our Strength, the organization behind No Kid Hungry. “I’ve heard stories of heart-breaking need and immense creativity, but above all persistence – a sense that we won’t let any barrier stand between a child and the healthy meals they need.”
Angelina Jolie said: “As of this week, over a billion children are out of school worldwide because of closures linked to coronavirus. Many children depend on the care and nutrition they receive during school hours, including nearly 22 million children in America who rely on food support. No Kid Hungry is making resolute efforts to reach as many of those children as possible.”
Parents and caregivers seeking meals for children in five states and counting can text the word “FOOD” (or “COMIDA”) to 304-304 to find emergency food distribution sites in their neighborhoods. Note: this service is currently active in Colorado, Hawaii, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. More states will be added on a rolling basis over the next few weeks as meal site data becomes available.
No Kid Hungry is continually reviewing grant inquiries, assessing community needs and deploying more funds in ways that maximize impact and help feed more kids. Schools and community organizations feeding children can access No Kid Hungry’s emergency grant application. For additional information and resources on how to help hungry kids during the coronavirus pandemic, visit NoKidHungry.org.
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About No Kid Hungry
No child should go hungry in America. But 1 in 7 kids will face hunger this year. No Kid Hungry is ending childhood hunger through effective programs that provide kids with the food they need. This is a problem we know how to solve. No Kid Hungry is a campaign of Share Our Strength, an organization working to end hunger and poverty. Join us at NoKidHungry.org
Angelina Jolie is an Academy Award-winning actor and Special Envoy of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees. She funds schools in Cambodia, Kenya, Namibia and Afghanistan. She has this week made a separate, undisclosed donation to the UN Refugee Agency, to support education for the most vulnerable children and families affected by coronavirus internationally. She is also working with the UNESCO on the establishment of a Global COVID -19 Education Coalition, aimed at ensuring children worldwide can continue their education during the pandemic.