Cast a vote for Roadrunner Food Bank
Posted on 02. Apr, 2013 by Stephan Helgesen in Social/Cultural
Help the Food Bank receive a Walmart grant to fund child hunger programs on Facebook with the ‘click’ of a mouse
All month, Roadrunner Food Bank is hoping the public will use their computer mouse to vote for the Food Bank to earn a $45,000 Walmart grant for childhood hunger programs at the Food Bank. Votes can be cast on Facebook until April 30 at 11:59 pm est.
The grants will be awarded to food banks with the most number of votes. The Food Bank is encouraging the public to take three easy actions to help achieve the grant.
- Vote on Facebook at: https://apps.facebook.com/walmartlocal/?applet=hunger&organization=1
- Share/invite/email your family, friends and colleagues to participate and vote too
- Return to Facebook every day until April 30th to cast a daily vote
“We are so grateful for this opportunity and we hope the community will take action and vote for our project. Funding like this helps us ensure the Food for Kids program is there for nearly 4,000 children every week. Without it, many of our children wouldn’t have access to regular weekend food. Your vote helps us secure food for vulnerable children,” said Melody Wattenbarger, president and CEO of Roadrunner Food Bank.
The grant is part of Walmart’s “Fighting Hunger Together” initiative. By voting, the public decides what organizations will receive grants. More than 300 different hunger relief organizations from across the US are competing. The more votes a Feeding America food bank receives, the better chances they have of receiving the grant. At the conclusion of the voting, top vote getters will split $3 million in funding from Walmart. The funds won will then be used to support local child hunger relief programs.
Roadrunner Food Bank would utilize the grant to help fund its Food for Kids Program. The program is targeted to providing low-income elementary school aged children food to eat over the weekend. Every week, 45 schools receive backpacks filled with food for low-income children to take home on Fridays. Children eat the food over the weekend and then return the backpack to be filled again. Often, the food in the backpack is the only food a child might eat for two days.
Funding for child hunger programs is especially critical given the significant need that exists. According to the USDA, more than 16 million children in the United States struggle with hunger. Roadrunner Food Bank serves about 90,000 hungry children every year, however there is an estimated 146,000 children who struggle with hunger in New Mexico.
For more information about Roadrunner Food Bank visit www.rrfb.org. To vote, please visit: https://apps.facebook.com/walmartlocal/?applet=hunger&organization=1
This was submitted by the Roadrunner® Food Bank, a Feeding America member. It is the largest non-profit dedicated to ending hunger in New Mexico and operates warehouses in Albuquerque and Las Cruces. Last year, the Food Bank distributed nearly 23 million pounds of food through its own programs, a statewide network of partner agencies, and regional food banks helping nearly 40,000 children and adults weekly. The Food Bank also rescued more than 16 million pounds of food last year keeping food out of landfills.
