Second Harvest Heartland Wins Morgan Stanley Award to Expand Program Delivering Nutritious Meals to Children and Families

SAINT PAUL, Minn., June 26, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Second Harvest Heartland today announces a $50,000 grant from Morgan Stanley to expand its child hunger initiatives.

The grant is part of the latest phase of the company's Fill the Plate initiative, part of Morgan Stanley's more than $14 million commitment to Feeding America and its network of 200 local food banks that distribute millions of meals every year to children and families across the United States. As part of the initiative, Morgan Stanley will award more than $4 million over three years to local food banks like Second Harvest Heartland to launch, expand and sustain critical childhood feeding programs.

"We are thrilled to receive this important grant from Morgan Stanley in support of our efforts to deliver more nutritious meals to children and families," said Rob Zeaske, chief executive officer of Second Harvest Heartland.  "Morgan Stanley is a terrific partner for our organization. We are grateful for this grant and for the Morgan Stanley volunteers who show their support by spending so many hours volunteering for Second Harvest Heartland."

"We are honored to be able to help the Second Harvest Heartland food bank in its important fight against child hunger," said Morgan Stanley Executive Director Mark Gherity. "Giving back to the communities where we live and work is one of Morgan Stanley's core values." 

Nationwide, child hunger is a critical problem. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, nearly 16 million children in the U.S. lack consistent access to the minimum amounts of nutritious food considered necessary for a healthy life. Feeding America's most recent Map the Meal Gap research indicates more than one in five children in 37 states and Washington D.C., do not have access to enough nutritious food to learn, grow and thrive.

About Second Harvest Heartland

Second Harvest Heartland is one of the nation's largest, most efficient and most innovative food banks.  In 2013, we delivered more than 65 million meals to nearly 1,000 food shelves, pantries and other agency partner programs serving 59 counties in Minnesota and western Wisconsin. Second Harvest Heartland helps relieve hunger not only by sourcing, warehousing and distributing food, but through data-driven thought leadership and community partnerships that help improve the region's larger hunger relief system.   For more information, visit 2harvest.org or call 651.484.5117.

Contact: 
Mary Sutherland
651-209-7913
[email protected]

SOURCE Second Harvest Heartland