Huddle to Fight Hunger aids food bank

GARY | Kraft Foods and Central Grocers recently donated 400,000 meals to the Food Bank of Northwest Indiana through Kraft's Huddle to Fight Hunger Campaign.

The football-themed hunger initiative featured celebrity spokespeople including famed NFL quarterback Joe Montana, ESPN reporter Erin Andrews and Food Network stars Patrick and Gina Neely raising awareness of the growing hunger crisis.

The campaign allowed individuals to donate meals to local food banks through different online and in store tasks such as "Liking" the programs Facebook page or purchasing specially marked packages of Kraft products. The program began last September and culminated in the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl game earlier this month.

Jim Nelson, for Kraft Foods, explained when the company bought the rights to the bowl game they decided to use the event as a way to give back and help raise awareness of hunger in the U.S.

"Instead of having the Oreo® bowl or something like that, we really wanted to make a difference and help shine a light on the hunger issue," said Nelson. "This is the only bowl game out there that is specifically named to help raise awareness for an issue like this," he added.

In addition to the national push, Kraft partnered with local Central Grocers stores to ensure the Chicagoland area received at least one million meals. Participating grocery stores including WiseWay, PayLow, Strack & Van Til's, Ultra Foods, Town and Country and Walt's, publicized the program in their stores and in their advertising to help increase awareness not only of the program, but of hunger in Northwest Indiana.

The Huddle to Fight Hunger's national goal was to provide 20 million meals to those in need, which was exceeded by more than one million meals.

The Food Bank of Northwest Indiana is located in Gary and supplies food to more than 100 pantries and soup kitchens in Lake and Porter counties.