Third Annual Summer Food and Resource Rally

Origins:

To help bring relief to families and seniors struggling with food insecurity and encourage greater community building, StarKist, along with Feed the Children, and Cornerstones hosted their Third Annual Summer Food and Resource Rally at Cornerstones' Food Rescue Empowerment Enterprise, or FREE from Hunger Center, in Sterling, Virginia. StarKist staff and volunteers distributed more than 100,000 pounds of food and household essentials to five regional food pantries and nonprofits in Northern Virginia.

Contribution:

Throughout the past 15 years, StarKist has contributed over 1,045,134 pounds of tuna and chicken products to help food-insecure children and families across the U.S., and more than $939,000 to support Feed the Children's disaster and emergency response efforts. The Third Annual Summer Food and Resource Rally was the latest in StarKist's continual efforts to alleviate hunger and food shortages, dating back to 1917 when there was a nationwide protein shortage during World War I and StarKist helped fill the void.

Objectives:

The Third Annual Summer Food & Resource Rally helped ensure community partners including Community Lodgings, Dulles South Food Pantry, Fellowship Square, LINK Against Hunger, and The South Lakes High School PTSA Food Pantry received enough supplies to help fight food insecurity ahead of summer. Each partner got 25-pound boxes of shelf-stable food, including StarKist products; 15-pound boxes of hygiene essentials such as shampoo, conditioner, lotion, and personal-care items; boxes of Avon products; and other essential items.

Impact:

Thousands of low-income individuals, seniors, and families, in Northern Virginia, face significant food insecurities, making it difficult to put food on the table each day. With more than 100,000 pounds of food and household essentials distributed during the Third Annual Summer Food and Resource Rally over 400 of those struggling individuals, seniors, and families in Northern Virginia were provided with the necessary support needed ahead of the harsh summer months. The Third Annual Summer Food and Resource Rally also garnered 582 media placements and 228,533,188 impressions through both press release pick-up and earned media coverage. PR highlights in local outlets included Patch.com, InsideNova, FFXNow.com, and syndicates of The Connection Newspapers. The social media team also worked to create real-time engagement and awareness of the event, through interactive stories with polls and quizzes, and engaging videos from each coalition partner. More than 60 social posts with a reach of 19,800+ were shared in support of the rally. Notable attendees included:
• Fairfax County Supervisor, Dranesville, Jimmy Bierman
• Virginia State Delegate, Fairfax, Karen Keys-Gamarra
• Virginia State Delegate, Loudoun, Atoosa Reaser
• Virginia State Delegate, Fairfax, Irene Shin

Additionally, staff from several elected officials attended, including Leen Almahdari and Ronell Chatmon with US Representative Gerry Connolly's office; Karen Harrison, representing Sen. Jennifer Boysko; Callie Lynch, Chief of Staff for Delegate Reaser; Jenny Phipps with Supervisor Bierman; and Ken Plum, former State Delegate and now Cornerstones' Board member.

Quote:

"StarKist is committed to helping alleviate food insecurity for families in need," said Tom Aslin, Vice President, Marketing of StarKist. "Through our StarKist Cares corporate giving efforts across the country, we know food insecurity has a devastating impact on lower-income communities. Our employees actively work to live our vision – to provide trusted, nutritious protein foods to more people. Here in Northern Virginia, where StarKist is headquartered, we were so proud to partner again with Feed the Children and Cornerstones and were honored to extend our engagement to new community partners working to combat hunger in this region."

Support Statement:

"Millions of older adults in America struggle with food insecurity due to fixed incomes and the physical challenges that make both grocery shopping and meal preparation difficult," said Christy Zeitz, CEO of Fellowship Square. "With the Third Annual Summer Food and Resource Rally – and particularly the donation of easy-to-open, protein-rich tuna and chicken products from StarKist – our seniors in the Fellowship Square communities got healthy nutritious food that they can easily enjoy."