|
Corporate Social Responsibility
News
1.19.2005 ET
|
CSR News from:
|
|
|
News Category:
|
|
The UPS Foundation Adds Nutrition To Initiative To Alleviate Hunger
(CSRwire) ATLANTA, Jan. 19, 2005 - Do hunger and obesity go together?
To a surprising extent, say nutrition experts, hunger often leads to
obesity. Families unable to afford nutritious food often end up
developing unhealthy eating habits, setting the stage for obesity and a
variety of other health problems. The UPS Foundation, which for 15 years
has pursued a major initiative to alleviate hunger in America, today
announced it was broadening that effort to address nutrition and obesity
issues.
The UPS Foundation's new initiative, "The National Collaboration to Reduce
Hunger and Improve Nutrition," has been launched with the award of $2
million in grants to eight different organizations.
The organizations are based across the country from California and Ohio to
Illinois, Virginia and Washington, D.C., and already are involved in
various aspects of the fights against hunger and obesity. The Society of
Saint Andrew in Big Island, Va., for example, is working to expand
distribution of otherwise wasted fresh produce from local farms to local
food banks. The Children's Hunger Alliance in Columbus, Ohio, is
expanding access to and improving the quality of school meals.
"Millions of Americans look hunger in the face every day. They feel the
consequences of poor nutrition and in many cases suffer from the effects
of obesity," said Evern Cooper Epps, president of The UPS Foundation.
"The connection between inadequate financial resources and poor nutrition
is clear and compelling. We want to be instrumental in the fight against
hunger by providing those individuals at risk with access to nutritious
foods as well as information and resources."
Government reports show 36.3 million Americans - 13.3 million of whom are
children - went hungry last year. Not surprisingly, there was a
double-digit increase in requests for emergency food assistance even as
medical evidence continues to mount showing America's children are facing
serious health threats because of widespread obesity and inactivity.
"Obesity and hunger are major public health concerns facing our nation
today," said Edward Cooney, executive director of the bipartisan
Congressional Hunger Center in Washington, D.C., and a former Agriculture
Department nutrition program director. "The announcement that The UPS
Foundation is launching a new funding initiative to fight hunger centered
on improving nutrition and decreasing obesity is of critical importance to
the nation's nutritionally vulnerable children and adults."
In addition to the $2 million in new grants, The UPS Foundation since 1989
has supported food banks and local feeding programs through its Prepared
and Perishable Food Rescue Initiative. UPS has helped local organizations
by providing more than $10 million to help recover and distribute more than
300 million pounds of food to feed hungry Americans. UPS has not only
contributed financially to the initiative, but also has provided
technical, logistical and managerial expertise.
Founded in 1951 and based in Atlanta, Ga., The UPS Foundation identifies
specific areas where its support will clearly impact social issues. The
Foundation's major initiatives currently include programs that support
increased nationwide volunteerism, family and workplace literacy and
hunger relief. In 2003, The UPS Foundation donated more than US$39.8
million to charitable organizations worldwide. Visit community.ups.com
for more information about UPS's community involvement.
UPS is the world's largest package delivery company and a global leader in
supply chain services, offering an extensive range of options for
synchronizing the movement of goods, information and funds. Headquartered
in Atlanta, Ga., UPS serves more than 200 countries and territories
worldwide. UPS's stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange (UPS), and
the company can be found on the Web at UPS.com.
# # #
Editor's Note: A list of The UPS Foundation grants made to fight
hunger and obesity is appended to this release.
Initial Grantees of The UPS Foundation's "National
Collaboration to Reduce Hunger & Improve Nutrition"
The UPS Foundation National Collaboration to Reduce Hunger and Improve
Nutrition provides resources to major national and regional organizations
to address critical hunger, obesity and nutrition issues in communities
across the country. The grantmaking program seeks to increase access to
high-quality nutritious foods, increase nonprofit organizational capacity
and increase collaboration among organizations fighting hunger and
obesity. Since 1989, The UPS Foundation has invested more than $12
million in the fight against hunger in America.
The Society of Saint Andrew - Big Island, Va. - $250,000
To expand distribution of otherwise wasted fresh produce from local farms
through gleaning to local food banks while increasing local volunteerism
and organizational capacity.
Share Our Strength - Washington, D.C. - $250,000
To build the capacity and expand the reach of the Operation Frontline
nutrition education program.
America's Second Harvest - Chicago, Ill. - $250,000
To develop a web-based allocation tool that will encourage local
affiliates to maximize and share their local food resources and improve
access to nutritional food products.
National Conference of State Legislatures - Washington, D.C. -
$250,000
To educate state legislators on the challenges and opportunities to
improve nutrition and fight obesity while connecting them with their
federal counterparts and nonprofit community organizations.
Food Research and Action Center - Washington, D.C. - $250,000
To provide leadership and technical assistance to state and local
anti-hunger organizations, schools and nutrition service providers to
increase participation of families and schools in programs such as summer
food, school breakfast and school wellness policies.
D.C. Central Kitchens, Inc. - Washington, D.C. - $250,000
To expand distribution of meals to the hungry, increase college campus
volunteerism, increase nutrition education for the hungry and provide job
training to low-income individuals through the national Campus Kitchens
program.
Community Food Security Coalition - Venice, Calif. - $250,000
To provide targeted and strategic assistance to three regional community
food security initiatives in the Southwest, Baltimore, Md. and New
York.
Children's Hunger Alliance - Columbus, Ohio - $250,000
To expand access to school breakfasts, improve the quality of food offered
to children during the school day and increase opportunities for youth to
be involved in physical activity outside the regular school day in Ohio
|
|
