PRESS RELEASE: National Canned Food Month Boosted by Local Schools and Kroger KIDS KAN Drive

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

National Canned Food Month Boosted by Local Schools and Kroger KIDS KAN Drive

(Memphis, TN –Feb. 11, 2015) Shelby County Schools and Mid-South Food Bank will continue the annual Kids Kan food drive next week from February 16th to the 27th. Kroger began the campaign in 1981, and participation has grown each year to help feed the need across the Mid-South. Last year, 162 schools across the county collected over 200,000 pounds of food, and they raised over $31,000. Kids Kan is critical in stocking the shelves of all food bank shelters prior to the winter months, when the need amongst the food insecure increases.

Kroger’s campaign encourages all elementary, middle, and high school children to bring nonperishable food and canned goods to their homerooms, and parents are invited to donate online at www.midsouthfoodbank.org. Even $1 can make a difference and provide a meal for a family of 3. The classroom that raises the most donations at each school will receive gift cards, courtesy of Kroger. Mid-South Food Bank will also recognize the top schools as leaders in the community for giving back and being socially responsible.

The holiday season might be over, but winter weather remains a burden for the food-insecure and the hungry across the Mid-South. "The need is greater because of the cold weather," said Estella Mayhue-Greer, Mid-South Food Bank president. "Seventy-four percent of people we provide for have to decide between heating homes or eating. As we face frigid temperatures we want them to know we still need to support them so that they can stay warm and full."

ABOUT MID-SOUTH FOOD BANK

Our Mission at Mid-South Food Bank is to bring the food-insecure population from hunger to health through collaborative partnerships and the effective distribution of nutritious food in our communities. Over 400,000 people in the Mid-South struggle with hunger, and nearly one-third of them are children. Through campaigns such as Kids Kan, we can continue to distribute to our network of more than 300 charitable feeding programs in west Tennessee, north Mississippi and east Arkansas.

# # #

#msfb #kidskan