EIF Ambassador Rachael Ray Lends Her Support to Drive to End Hunger Effort

In a new public service campaign, the best-selling author and TV personality encourages people to take action to fight hunger among older Americans

LOS ANGELES, July 21, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Entertainment Industry Foundation Ambassador, author and television personality Rachael Ray is lending her support to a new public service campaign aimed at ending hunger for the more than six million Americans over the age of 50 who struggle to put food on the table every day. The new campaign supports Drive to End Hunger, AARP and AARP Foundation's nationwide effort to end hunger among older Americans by calling on people of all ages to donate time, money or food to local hunger relief organizations.

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"Many older Americans are trying to make ends meet by eating cheaper, less healthy foods or skipping meals altogether," Rachael said. "The issue of hunger in America is very important to me. This is a problem we can solve if we all work together.  But we have to start now."

The PSA campaign will run in print and on broadcast outlets, as well as in out-of-home placements, for the next 12 months. Ray is a longtime anti-hunger advocate, who, through her foundation The Yum-O! organization, empowers kids and their families to develop healthy relationships with food and cooking by teaching families to cook, feeding hungry kids and funding cooking education and scholarships.

"We are so pleased to collaborate with Rachael, who has worked tirelessly in recent years to raise awareness of the problem of hunger in this country and how we can all be part of the solution," said AARP Foundation President Jo Ann Jenkins, who spearheads the Drive to End Hunger initiative. "She is helping us shine a spotlight on older Americans, who often struggle silently with hunger and are forced to make the devastating choice between food and other basic needs, like housing or medications."

For more information on the PSA campaign, visit www.DriveToEndHunger.org.

About EIF
The Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF), as a leading charitable organization of the entertainment industry, has distributed hundreds of millions of dollars to support charitable initiatives addressing critical health, education and social issues. Visit www.eifoundation.org.

About AARP
AARP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization with a membership that helps people 50+ have independence, choice and control in ways that are beneficial and affordable to them and society as a whole. AARP does not endorse candidates for public office or make contributions to either political campaigns or candidates. We produce AARP The Magazine, the definitive voice for 50+ Americans and the world's largest-circulation magazine with nearly 35 million readers; AARP Bulletin, the go-to news source for AARP's millions of members and Americans 50+; AARP VIVA, the only bilingual U.S. publication dedicated exclusively to the 50+ Hispanic community; and our website, AARP.org. AARP Foundation is an affiliated charity that provides security, protection, and empowerment to older persons in need with support from thousands of volunteers, donors, and sponsors. We have staffed offices in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

ABOUT AARP FOUNDATION
AARP Foundation is AARP's affiliated charity. The Foundation is dedicated to serving vulnerable people 50+ by creating solutions that help them secure the essentials and achieve their best life. AARP Foundation focuses on: hunger, housing, income and isolation as our key mission areas. The Foundation envisions: "a country free of poverty where no older person feels vulnerable." Foundation programs are funded by grants, tax-deductible contributions and AARP. For more information about AARP Foundation, please log on to www.aarp.org/foundation.

SOURCE AARP