Consumers Use Creativity and Artistry to Fight Hunger - One Slice of Bread at a Time

RIDGWAY, Colo., April 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Nearly 17 million children in America – almost one in four – struggle with hunger.  The families of these children have a hard time putting food on the table.  The non-profit Grain Foods Foundation has teamed up with Food Network host Melissa d'Arabian and Share Our Strength®, a non-profit leading the charge to end childhood hunger in America by 2015, to help give hungry children in our country access to nutritious meals.  

The Bread Art Project was created in 2009 by the Grain Foods Foundation to help increase awareness of the growing hunger problem in our country.  Last year, visitors to breadartproject.com created more than 25,000 pieces of Bread Art to raise more than $25,000 for a national hunger-relief organization. This year, the Foundation hopes to double that amount in its support of Share Our Strength.

Now through June 30, 2010, consumers can create a personalized piece of bread art – at no cost – by uploading a favorite drawing or photo, or designing a new one using a digital slice of bread as the canvas.  For each piece of bread art created, the Grain Foods Foundation will donate $1 to Share Our Strength*.  One dollar can help provide three nutritious meals to a hungry child; $25 can help feed one child three healthy meals every day for a month; and $100 can help provide 25 children facing hunger backpacks full of healthy food to feed them and their families over the weekend.

"Our children deserve healthy meals, and I applaud the Grain Foods Foundation for its efforts to provide access to those in need," d'Arabian said.  "As a mother of four, I understand a parent's desire to properly nourish their children.  It's heartbreaking to know there are families in our own country struggling for the basics."

"Staples like bread and grains provide many essential nutrients our bodies need to stay healthy," said Judi Adams MS, RD and president of the Grain Foods Foundation.  "Plus, they are affordable and versatile items families can use to stretch their grocery dollars at home."

For families looking for help with their own kitchen cutbacks, d'Arabian has developed recipes and tips that show how to choose the right foods to fit a budget while providing healthy meals with long-lasting benefits.  For this information, or to make a personalized piece of bread art, visit gowiththegrain.org, where consumers can join the effort to help fight hunger; or follow GoWithTheGrain on Facebook, Twitter and Flickr.

About Share Our Strength

Share Our Strength® is the leading national organization working to make sure no kid in America grows up hungry. By weaving together a net of community groups, activists and food programs, Share Our Strength catches children at risk of hunger and ensures they have nutritious food where they live, learn and play. Working closely with the culinary industry, Share Our Strength creates engaging, pioneering programs like Share Our Strength's Taste of the Nation®, the nation's premier culinary benefit; Share Our Strength's Great American Bake Sale®, a national grassroots effort; Share Our Strength's A Tasteful Pursuit®, a touring dinner series; Share Our Strength's Great American Dine Out®, a week-long program involving thousands of restaurants nationwide; and Share Our Strength's Operation Frontline®, a cooking-based nutrition education program. Through these programs, we raise funds to support No Kid Hungry™, a national campaign to end childhood hunger in America by 2015. Visit Strength.org for more information.

About the Grain Foods Foundation

The Grain Foods Foundation, a joint venture of members of the milling, baking and allied industries formed in 2004, is dedicated to advancing the public's understanding of the beneficial role grain-based foods play in the human diet.  Directed by a board of trustees, funding for the Foundation is provided through voluntary donations from private grain-based food companies and is supplemented by industry associations.  For more information about the Grain Foods Foundation, visit gowiththegrain.org, or find GoWithTheGrain Facebook, Twitter and Flickr.

*The Grain Foods Foundation will donate $50,000 to Share Our Strength plus an additional $1 for each qualifying Bread Art submission received at breadartproject.com now through June 30, 2010.  Maximum donation: $100,000.

SOURCE Grain Foods Foundation