ConAgra Foods Enlists Music Executive Scooter Braun and His Artists Including Carly Rae Jepsen and Others to Help End Child Hunger in America

OMAHA, Neb., Feb. 26, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- More than one in five children¹ and more than one in three Latino children² in this country may not know where their next meal is coming from. Children who experience even intermittent struggles with hunger may suffer serious, long-term consequences to their health, well-being and educational achievement.¹ ConAgra Foods is building a community of people to make a difference, from top musical artists, to parents, kids, employees and more to help donate up to 3 million³ meals. For each 8-digit code found on specially marked ConAgra Foods products and entered at www.ChildHungerEndsHere.com or Facebook.com/ChildHungerEndsHere, ConAgra Foods will donate the monetary equivalent of one meal³ to Feeding America. This effort complements the ConAgra Foods Foundation's $10 million, five-year commitment to Feeding America, the leader in the fight against hunger nationwide.

The 2013 Child Hunger Ends Here campaign will be supported by Carly Rae Jepsen, Tori Kelly, Amber Riley and Cody Simpson, who will lend their voices to spread awareness for child hunger while asking consumers to take action by entering a code found on participating ConAgra Foods products. The campaign will be supported with an original song, online concerts and retail promotions alongside a social media campaign involving top online influencers. This is the first time a major food company has partnered with a management company in this capacity, channeling the influence and talent of artists in order to impact real change.

"For 20 years, ConAgra Foods has provided funds, expertise and food to fight child hunger, and while there's been progress, child hunger continues to be a problem across America. We created the Child Hunger Ends Here program to raise more awareness of this serious issue, and we've made it simple for consumers to get involved by starting with a code entry," said Gary Rodkin, CEO of ConAgra Foods. "Now, by partnering with these talented performers, we hope to have an even bigger impact and encourage more consumers to help us end child hunger in the U.S."

Written by recording artist Tori Kelly, the original song, "Fill a Heart," brings the story of hunger to life, drawing awareness for the nearly 17 million children who are food insecure in the U.S.,¹ while motivating parents and kids to learn how they can help end child hunger. Kelly premiered her acoustic version of "Fill a Heart" during a February 18 Stageit concert, where she broadcasted live via this online concert venue with viewers watching from their laptops. Riley and Simpson will also record versions of Kelly's song, in their own unique styles, which will be available for download at www.ChildHungerEndsHere.com March 1. Exclusive behind-the-scenes video content from Kelly, Riley and Simpson will be available on the website and at Facebook.com/ChildHungerEndsHere, and other surprises in the campaign are also on the way.

"It's important for me to be actively involved in causes that affect children, and I love how easy it is for people to participate in this program," said Tori Kelly. "It's heartbreaking to know there are so many children in this country who are hungry, so when I set out to create a new song for the Child Hunger Ends Here program, I wanted to bring awareness and provide a hopeful message that by working together, child hunger can be solved."

Consumers can easily participate by looking for the red pushpin in grocery stores and purchasing specially-marked packages of 19 select ConAgra Foods brands, including Banquet®, Chef Boyardee®, Healthy Choice®, Hunt's®, Marie Callender's®, Manwich®, Orville Redenbacher's®, Peter Pan® and Snack Pack®, then visit www.ChildHungerEndsHere.com or Facebook.com/ChildHungerEndsHere to enter the eight-digit code found on the package. For each code entered, the equivalent of one meal³ will be donated to Feeding America. Codes can be entered through August 2013. Additionally, consumers can start with a code and do more. While entering codes, consumers will be able to submit their zip codes to support the local Feeding America food bank serving their community. Up to ten local food banks with the highest number of zip codes entered within their service area will receive the monetary donation of an 80,000-meal donation ($10,000), provided that the total number of codes entered exceeds 2 million. Local food bank grant recipients will be determined at the conclusion of the code-entry campaign on August 31, 2013.

Cody Simpson added, "It's so easy to make a difference, all you have to do is look for the red pushpin on participating ConAgra Foods packages, enter a code on the website and you've just donated a meal to Feeding America, how awesome is that! Recording the 'Fill a Heart' song and learning about child hunger really opened my eyes. I hope people will join us to help end child hunger."

"Child hunger is a problem we cannot ignore, and it is a privilege to work with ConAgra Foods to make a real difference right here in America," said Braun, credited with launching the careers of Justin Bieber, Psy ("Gangnam Style") and Carly Rae Jepsen among others.  "I'm so proud of my artists that they are willing to lend their voices to such an important cause."

In addition to partnering with celebrity talent, ConAgra Foods is enlisting its own talent for the company's Week of Service, April 5-19. Employees at locations nationwide will volunteer at food banks, pack boxes of food and serve meals. The company hopes to exceed the 3,400 hours employees volunteered during last year's Week of Service.

Since 1993, through their partnerships with Feeding America, ConAgra Foods and ConAgra Foods Foundation have provided more than 302 million pounds of food and invested more than $37 million in capacity building, child hunger programs and groundbreaking research. The Foundation, a separate a 501(c)(3) nonprofit entity primarily funded by the company, is in the midst of a $10 million, 5-year commitment to Feeding America, the largest donation ever made to Feeding America specifically to fight child hunger.

For more information, visit www.ChildHungerEndsHere.com. You can also follow the discussion at Facebook.com/ChildHungerEndsHere, or tweet along by following @ChildHungerEnds.

About ConAgra Foods
ConAgra Foods, Inc., (NYSE: CAG) is one of North America's largest packaged food companies. Its balanced portfolio includes consumer brands found in 97 percent of America's households, the largest private brand packaged food business in North America, and a strong commercial and foodservice business. Consumers can find recognized brands such as Banquet®, Chef Boyardee®, Egg Beaters®, Healthy Choice®, Hebrew National®, Hunt's®, Marie Callender's®, Orville Redenbacher's® popcorn, PAM®, Peter Pan®, Reddi-wip®, Slim Jim® beef jerky, Snack Pack® and many other ConAgra Foods brands, plus food sold under private brand labels, in grocery, convenience, mass merchandise, club stores and drugstores. ConAgra Foods also has a strong commercial foods presence, supplying frozen potato and sweet potato products as well as other vegetable, spice, bakery and grain products to a variety of well-known restaurants, foodservice operators and commercial customers. ConAgra Foods operates ReadySetEat.com, an interactive recipe website that provides consumers with Dinner Ideas and more. For more information, please visit us at www.conagrafoods.com.

About ConAgra Foods Foundation
The ConAgra Foods Foundation, through its Nourish Today, Flourish Tomorrow platform, is dedicated to raising awareness of the nearly 17 million children in America who are at risk of hunger and live in food insecure homes where they may not have enough food to live active, healthful lives. It aggressively pursues sustainable solutions in the fight against child hunger. And the Foundation is committed to building a community of people who are passionate about ensuring that all kids have access to the food and facts they need to eat nutritiously while living balanced lifestyles and succeeding in school and life. ConAgra Foods Foundation invests in national and local partnerships with high-impact, not-for-profit organizations, such as Feeding America and Share Our Strength that take an innovative approach to addressing needs in the core areas of hunger and nutrition education. For more information, please visit www.ConagraFoods.com or www.facebook.com/ConAgraFoods The ConAgra Foods Foundation is primarily funded by ConAgra Foods.

About Feeding America
Feeding America provides low-income individuals and families with the fuel to survive and even thrive. As the nation's leading domestic hunger-relief charity, our network members supply food to more than 37 million Americans each year, including 14 million children and 3 million seniors. Serving the entire United States, more than 200 member food banks support 61,000 agencies that address hunger in all of its forms. For more information on how you can fight hunger in your community and across the country, visit http://www.feedingamerica.org. Find us on Facebook at facebook.com/FeedingAmerica or follow our news on Twitter at twitter.com/FeedingAmerica.

About Scooter Braun
Scooter Braun has strategically positioned SB Projects as one of the most exciting, and fastest-growing, companies in the entertainment industry. With the unprecedented success of clients such as Justin Bieber, PSY, Carly Rae Jepsen, The Wanted and Cody Simpson, Scooter is widely considered one of the music industry's most promising and powerful young executives. If Scooter Braun's career ended today, he would have earned more accolades and success than most entrepreneurs twice his age. However, Scooter is just getting started and always operates with an underdog mentality. Scooter's gifts for recognizing talent, working tirelessly to help his clients achieve worldwide success, and brokering extraordinary deals with strategic partners and brands are quickly becoming the entertainment industry's worst-kept secret. Scooter is also an active philanthropist who is always searching for deals that involve charitable, give-back components. He serves on the Advisory Board for Pencils of Promise, a non-profit organization founded by his brother Adam that builds schools in the developing world.

About Carly Rae Jepsen
Canadian singer/songwriter and breakout pop sensation Carly Rae Jepsen has taken America by storm after bursting onto the scene in the U.S. with her hit single "Call Me Maybe." Unforgettably catchy, the hit song which she co-wrote quickly rose to the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart where it remained for nine consecutive weeks. Certified quintuple-platinum in Jepsen's native Canada the track is also an international sensation, climbing to No. 1 on the iTunes Singles charts in over 47 countries. The official video is rapidly approaching 400 million views on YouTube, and the song has sold over 10 million singles worldwide to date.  Follow up platinum single "Good Time," a duet with Owl City, climbed to No. 3 on the Pop Chart, while the video has racked up over 77 million YouTube views. Jepsen released her debut album Kiss on September 18th via 604 Records/Schoolboy Records/Interscope Records along with her latest single "This Kiss". Billboard recently named Jepsen its "Rising Star" at the 2012 Billboard Women In Music Awards- and won the 2012 American Music Award for Best New Artist. Carly received two 2012 GRAMMY nominations for Best Pop Solo Performance and Song of the Year. This month Jepsen will release the video for her new single "Tonight I'm Getting Over You" and continue to tour as a special guest on Justin Bieber's headlining 'Believe' tour of North America and Europe. 

About Tori Kelly
Tori Kelly is a 20 year-old singer/songwriter from Southern California. She self-released "Handmade Songs by Tori Kelly" last May, a collection of songs that perfectly blend the accessibility of the girl next door with the depth and skill of a world class artist. Tori started singing at age three and then picked up drums, piano and guitar shortly thereafter. She credits Michael Jackson, Jeff Buckley, John Mayer, Jill Scott, and gospel artists such as Crystal Lewis and J. Moss as her musical influences, which are reflected in her soulful pop/rock blend. It is her clear and uncompromising vision for her craft and career that has helped her build a YouTube channel that has garnered over 30,000,000 views and a following that spans the globe. The new "it girl" of music, Tori has generated a buzz not seen in years from a female singer/songwriter. When she stands on stage she gives new meaning to "a girl and her guitar." In a world where so much music has become overproduced and complex, Tori is a purist...her unique vocal runs and the purity of her tone are impossible to ignore. Some compare her to Jewel, some compare her to Alicia Keys, but she's very much just on her own: Tori Kelly. 

About Amber Riley
Amber Riley stars as "Mercedes Jones," New Directions' recently graduated powerhouse vocalist with a diva attitude on FOX's "Glee," which is currently in its fourth season. She got her first big break when Ryan Murphy cast her in the pilot "St. Sass." Although the pilot was not picked up, she was able to use that experience to land a role on the television series "Cedric the Entertainer Presents." She has performed in numerous theater productions, including "Alice in Wonderland," "A Midsummer Night's Dream," "Into The Woods" and "Mystery on the Docks" with the Los Angeles Opera. In November 2012, Amber made her New York stage debut to rave reviews in New York City Center's Duke Ellington's Cotton Club Parade. "(Riley) offered a note-perfect take on 'Stormy Weather'," says Entertainment Weekly.

Amber received her second individual NAACP Image Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy series for her work on "Glee." In 2011, she was nominated for a second Teen Choice Award for Choice TV: Female Scene Stealer and in 2010 received the Most Popular Geek Award at AOL's 1st Annual Geek Awards. She previously served as an Ambassador for VH-1's Save the Music Foundation and is a member of Seventeen Magazine's Body Peace Council.

About Cody Simpson
Cody Simpson is a 16-year-old worldwide pop sensation hailing from the Gold Coast of Australia. With over 4M Twitter followers and FB likes, as well as over 150M views on YouTube, Simpson is a social media juggernaut. A truly charming and charismatic live performer, Simpson launched his career in the U.S. with a series of live performances as well as his debut EP, "4 U" which rose to #1 on Radio Disney's "Top 30 Countdown." In summer 2011, he made a stunning chart debut as his "Coast to Coast" EP entered the SoundScan/Billboard 200 at #12. Cody has toured nearly non-stop, including his sold out "Welcome to Paradise" headline tour, and co-headline tours with Big Time Rush and shows alongside Justin Bieber and Carly Rae Jepsen. Simpson released his latest album Paradise in September 2012. The delightfully idiosyncratic album confirms Cody Simpson as a major recording artist and a unique new voice in modern pop music. Cody also happens to be an Olympic level swimmer and avid surfer.

¹USDA Household Food Security in the United States 2011 report

²Coleman-Jensen, A., Nord, M., Andrews, M., & Carlson, S. (2012). Food Security in the United States in 2010. USDA ERS.

³A monetary donation will be made to help provide one meal through Feeding America's network of food banks, up to a maximum of 3 million meals for codes entered through 8/31/13. Guaranteed minimum donation:  1 million meals ($125,000).  Valid in U.S. only. $1 donated = 8 meals secured by Feeding America on behalf of local food banks.

SOURCE ConAgra Foods