Watsonville, CA – On September 6, Feeding America’s 2013 Hunger Action Month will get a giant kickoff at San Francisco’s AT&T Park, home of the San Francisco Giants, 2012 World Series champions.
In an unprecedented partnership tied to the upcoming release of animated comedy “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2,” Sony Pictures Animation, Feeding America and leading fresh produce companies, including California Giant Berry Farms, Duda Farm Fresh Foods, Grimmway Farms and Cal-Organic, are joining together in the shared commitment to help solve hunger in America.
Feeding America’s annual Hunger Action Month is a month-long event dedicated to raising public awareness of hunger in America. Every September, event activities bring together the Feeding America national network of food banks – such as the San Francisco and Marin Food Banks – and partnering agencies to urge individuals and businesses to take action in their communities. Following an official kickoff on September 5, Hunger Action Day, San Francisco will follow suit with its banner event at the September 6th Giants game.
In a special tribute to orange, the official color of both Hunger Action Month and the San Francisco Giants, this hunger action event will be held on an “Orange Friday,” a weekly game throughout the season when fans wear orange to show their support.
“We’re huge Giants fans,” said Cindy Jewell, Director of Marketing, California Giant Berry Farms. “Orange Friday is the perfect opportunity to connect our hunger action support and our California Giant strawberries with our home team.”
Giants fans will be encouraged to bring canned goods or to make cash donations to Feeding America, and will be treated to complimentary pre-game fresh snacks, including baby carrots from Grimmway Farms and Cal-Organic, celery sticks from Duda Farm Fresh Foods and strawberries from California Giant Berry Farms.
“Summer snacking goes hand-in-hand with the ballgame,” said Nichole Towell, Director of Marketing, Duda Farm Fresh Foods. “One of the goals of this partnership is to put more fresh produce into the hands of America’s families and children in need.”
“We’re hoping this event is going to hit a home run for hunger,” said Bob Borda, VP of Marketing, Grimmway Farms. “Our biggest passion, outside of farming, is making fresh produce a staple in the American diet, especially for families and children who are undernourished. We support the color orange.”
Grocery shoppers will also get a chance to support Feeding America and Hunger Action Month in supermarkets across the country. Shoppers should look for specially packaged product from participating produce suppliers featuring Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 artwork and a QR code that will link them to Cloudy2win.com for movie rewards, recipes, information about the film, and donation information.
“We’d like to thank the San Francisco Giants and KNBR for their generous support of our collective fight against hunger,” said George Leon, Executive Vice President, Global Consumer Marketing, Sony Entertainment. “Cloudy provides great entertainment, but it also gets across an important message about making the world a better place through fresh produce and food, which are integral to the film.”
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 food pantries, soup kitchens and shelters 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 California Giant Berry Farms
California Giant Berry Farms grows and ships over 20 million trays of berries annually (200 million pounds). A privately held company based in Watsonville, California, the company produces strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and raspberries and encompasses all aspects of the growing, handling and shipping of fresh berries. The management and employees know the future depends on the actions of today and places concern for the environment, food safety, excellent quality and service at the core of their business. For more information, please visit www.calgiant.com.
About Grimmway Farms & Cal-Organic Farms
Founded in 1968, Grimmway Farms is the largest grower, producer and shipper of carrots in the world. Grimmway Farms is a produce industry leader in organic and sustainable farming practices and has been family owned and operated for over 40 years. Since 1984, Cal-Organic Farms has grown to be a leading grower of organic produce. Family owned and offering a full line of produce year-round, Cal-Organic Farms is a trusted organic choice. For more information about Grimmway Farms and Cal-Organic Farms, please visit www.grimmway.com.
About Duda Farm Fresh Foods
Duda Farm Fresh Foods is a major grower, shipper and marketer of fresh citrus and fresh and fresh-cut vegetables with primary locations in Florida, California, Arizona, Georgia, Texas and Michigan. Duda Farm Fresh Foods is a wholly-owned subsidiary of DUDA, a family-owned, diversified land company headquartered in Oviedo, Fla. For more information, please visit www.dudafresh.com
About Sony Pictures
Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) is a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sony Corporation. SPE's global operations encompass motion picture production, acquisition and distribution; television production, acquisition and distribution; television networks; digital content creation and distribution; operation of studio facilities; and development of new entertainment products, services and technologies. For additional information, go to http://www.sonypictures.com/.
About Sony Pictures Animation
Sony Pictures Animation produces a variety of animated entertainment for audiences around the world. The studio is following its worldwide comedy hits – the 2012 monster hit comedy Hotel Transylvania, the 2011 hybrid live action/animated blockbuster The Smurfs, and the 2009 mouth-watering Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs – with The Smurfs 2 in July 2013, and Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs 2 in September 2013. Sony Pictures Animation, in conjunction with Aardman Animations, has produced two critically acclaimed feature films: the CG-animated family comedy Arthur Christmas; and the Academy Award® nominated stop-frame animated high-seas adventure, The Pirates! Band of Misfits. In 2007, Surf's Up also received an Academy Award® nomination for Best Animated Feature Film. The division, whose first feature film Open Season led to a very successful movie franchise, turned 10 in 2012. Sony Pictures Animation is an operating unit of Sony Pictures Digital Productions.
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Source: California Giant Berry Farms
