The Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia and the Eastern Shore and VOLUNTEER Hampton Roads Launch Hunger Heroes Corporate Food Frenzy & Summer of Service

Inaugural Campaign Targets Increased Food Insecurity During Summer Months

Norfolk, VA—April 23, 2018 — The Foodbank of Southern Virginia & the Eastern Shore is teaming up with VOLUNTEER Hampton Roads for the Inaugural Hunger Heroes Corporate Food Frenzy & Summer of Service — an initiative aimed at raising food and funds to help feed those in our community facing food insecurity.

“The summer months are particularly challenging for the Foodbank. We experience a significant decrease in donations; however, the demand increases as children are not able to depend on reduced breakfast and lunch offered at school,” said Dr. Ruth Jones Nichols, CEO, Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia and the Eastern Shore. “With more than two million Virginians considered food insecure, this campaign is strategically designed to galvanize the business community around eliminating hunger and help us inch closer toward closing the meal gap in our region.”

From May 21 through June 9, companies will participate in a friendly competition – earning points by collecting monetary and food donations for the Foodbank. As part of the Summer of Service initiative, the competition will extend from June 9 through September 11, during which time companies will earn additional points through volunteer service at local nonprofits.

“We are thrilled to partner with the Foodbank for this event. As one of the area’s largest receivers of volunteers, working with them to mobilize a community of volunteers made absolute sense,” said VOLUNTEER Hampton Roads CEO Kate Meechan. “We are excited to help connect our area’s largest mobilizers of volunteers, our corporations, to a series of volunteer opportunities throughout the summer, beginning with a day of service at the Foodbank in June. With more than 60 members as part of our Corporate VOLUNTEER Council, we have every reason to believe we will reach our goal of donating 1,000 hours of community service to area nonprofit and community organizations.”

Through the Hunger Heroes Corporate Food Frenzy and Summer of Service, the Foodbank hopes to raise 180,000 meals and provide 1,000 hours in volunteer service hours to nonprofit organizations in Hampton Roads.

To learn more about registration for this humanitarian effort, Contact Debbie Hansley at dhansley@foodbankonline.com or 757-201-6284. For further information visit www.foodbankonline.org/hungerheroes. For information regarding the Summer of Service series of events, please contact Melissa Reese at mreese@volunteerhr.org.

Media Contact:

Kelli Webb, The KBD Group
kelliwebb@thekbdgroup.com
(757) 606-0281

About the Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia

The Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia and the Eastern Shore, a member of Feeding America® and the Federation of Virginia Food Banks, has been providing food for those facing hunger since 1981. Through fiscal year 2015, we have distributed over 246 million meals throughout our service area, which includes the cities of Norfolk, Portsmouth, Chesapeake, Suffolk, Franklin, and Virginia Beach as well as the counties of Southampton, Northampton, Sussex, Isle of Wight, and Accomack. For up-to-date information on the Foodbank, find us online at foodbankonline.org; like us on Facebook at facebook.com/SEVAFoodbank; or follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/FoodbankSEVA. To give, text FEED to 757-550-3535.

About VOLUNTEER Hampton Roads

VOLUNTEER Hampton Roads has been strengthening nonprofits and increasing civic engagement in Hampton Roads for more than 60 years. The mission of VOLUNTEER Hampton Roads is to CONNECT businesses with opportunities which create a positive impact on our community; to EQUIP nonprofits with the resources they need to achieve their mission; to MOBILIZE a community of volunteers to create change. To find out more about the resources VOLUNTEER Hampton Roads provides to the community, please visit www.volunteerhr.org.