May 6, 2006
CHICAGO, IL — May 6, 2006 — The 2006 Food Marketing Institute (FMI) Show and four co-located events are expected to donate about 200,000 pounds of food to the Greater Chicago Food Depository (GCFD) when the events close next Tuesday, May 9. These donations of surplus product samples are enough food to provide the equivalent of about 150,000 meals for the metro area’s hungry men, women and children, according to the Food Depository.

The FMI Show — one of the largest annual food trade events in the world — will be held May 7-9 at Chicago’s McCormick Place, along with All Things Organic, the Fancy Food Show, United Produce EXPO & Conference and U.S. Food Export Showcase. Total donations from these events exceed 1.6 million pounds of food and beverages since FMI and the Chicago-area food bank formed this charitable partnership in 1996.

“These shows serve up a feast for the hungry of Chicago, generating the most donations in a single day each year,” said Food Depository Executive Director Mike Mulqueen. “We thank the food industry for its generous giving and the hundreds of Chicago area volunteers who gather all the products from exhibit floors and load them into trucks with the help of McCormick Place workers.”

The food — which will include milk, bread, produce, cereal, luncheon meats, cheese and hundreds of other products found in a typical supermarket — could fill as many as 25 semi-trailer trucks, including refrigerated rigs provided by the GES Exposition Company.

“FMI is proud to facilitate this generous contribution from the entire food industry,” said FMI President and CEO Tim Hammonds. “Support for food banks is a natural part of our business in which supermarkets donate products from every aisle of the store every day. It is fitting that one of our industry’s signature events culminates with this outpouring of donations for the needy in America.”

“The food industry leads hunger-relief efforts across the country,” said Robert H. Forney, president and CEO of America’s Second Harvest — The Nation’s Food Bank Network, which represents the Food Depository among more than 200 food banks in all 50 states and Puerto Rico. “The giving at these events in Chicago is a model for the nation, filling a vital need at a time when hunger and poverty remain pervasive.”

The food industry across America provides extensive support for food banks year-round. Each year, one-quarter of the food retailers surveyed for a 2005 FMI report give food banks one million or more pounds of food — enough for at least 100,000 meals. More than one-half now donate at least 100,000 pounds annually.

Numerous companies raise and donate funds for food banks, and contribute a wide array of services, including transportation, product-sorting, help with warehouse construction and food safety guidance.