Biggest Loser Season 7 Contestant Abby Rike Visits The North Texas Food Bank!

January 22, 2010 at 10:00 am (Uncategorized)
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Abby Rike, contestant from NBC’s The Biggest Loser, joined us at the Food Bank on 1/20 to help raise awareness for the Pound For Pound Challenge.

Rike, a North Texas native, overcame the unbelievable tragedy of losing her husband and two children in a car accident in 2006. After joining the cast of The Biggest Loser, Abby lost over 100 lbs, and told us that she feels “great.”

While she was here, our Public Relations Manager, Paige Phelps, took her on a tour of the warehouse. Abby marveled at the size of our 72,000 square foot warehouse, was excited about the Food 4 Kids program, and stopped by to chat with some participants in the Texas Second Chance program.

The Texas Second Chance program, coordinated with Dawson State Prison, provides job training opportunities for incarcerated women. When walking through the warehouse, Paige introduced Abby to these ladies, and their excitement was palpable! Abby chatted with the women for a few minutes, and gave them inspiration on making good choices once they are released, saying “every day is a new day. If you messed up yesterday, start again today. Life is about the choices you make. You can make good choices, or you can make bad choices. But every day is a fresh start, a chance to start all over again.” After hearing Rike’s words, many of the ladies were obviously affected – some with tears in their eyes.

Abby was also on hand to make a video encouraging YOU to join the Pound For Pound Challenge. The Challenge, working in conjunction with The Biggest Loser, encourages us to lose weight, get healthy, and feed the hungry in the process! For every pound you pledge to lose, General Mills will donate 14 cents to Feeding America – the cost of delivering one pound of food to a local pantry.

Check out this video of Abby here at the Food Bank! Then, log on to www.pfpchallenge.com to join her!

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Attention Pound For Pound Challenge Participants!

January 20, 2010 at 5:33 pm (Events)
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The Biggest Loser wants to hear your stories! If your group has signed on to take the Pound for Pound challenge, they want to showcase your success in an upcoming segment on The Biggest Loser! If you are part of a corporation, organization, or just a group of people trying to get healthy, leave a comment here with your information, and we will contact you!
The Pound For Pound Challenge is a nationwide weight loss challenge that benefits Feeding America food banks across the country. This Challenge, conducted in conjunction with NBC’s The Biggest Loser, is General Mills’ pledge to donate 14 cents, the cost of delivering one pound of food to a food pantry, to Feeding America.  

Filming would take place in February/March 2010 and the segment would air in March/April 2010.

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Wal-Mart Associates Give Time To The North Texas Food Bank on MLK Day of Service

January 19, 2010 at 4:59 pm (Events, Volunteer)
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Volunteers Packing Boxes

“Life’s most urgent question is: What are you doing for others?” – Martin Luther King, Jr.

On the inaugural Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service, 70 Walmart associates gave up a day off to give back to their community. These employees joined 90 other community volunteers to pack and sort the second-highest amount of food ever in a 3-hour Volunteer Experience, according to North Texas Food Bank Warehouse Coordinator Randy Gould.

Senior Manager of Public Affairs at Wal-Mart, Kellie Duhr, told KDAF that Walmart is the largest food donator in the United States, and that helping the North Texas Food Bank “just fits” with their business.

Associates that attended the event also signed a banner with their dreams for a better, hunger-free North Texas.

Chief Philanthropy Officer at the Food Bank, Colleen Brinkmann, told KDAF that Walmart was the “largest corporate supporter of Feeding America, our national hunger organization,” and that “they are a key supporter of the North Texas Food Bank, providing premier product through the Retail Food Pick-Up Program, as well as giving their time, and financial support which helps with the operations of the Food Bank.”

This dedicated group helped pack and sort 73,000 meals to go out to the 53,000 families that the North Texas Food Bank serves. These volunteers serve an especially crucial purpose in getting food out to families in our service area, and we thank Walmart for joining us on this Day of Service!

You can learn more about Walmart Gives Back at www.walmartgiving.com

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A Message on Haiti Relief from Vicki Escarra, Feeding America President and CEO

January 15, 2010 at 7:16 pm (Emergency Assistance, In the News)
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By now you have all heard about the tragedy that is unfolding in Haiti in the wake of yesterday’s 7.0-magnitude earthquake. Please join me in extending your thoughts to people who are struggling in Haiti, as well as their friends and family members here in the United States and beyond.

While Feeding America is focused on domestic hunger, we should all recognize and applaud the efforts of our fellow non-profit, non-governmental, and faith-based organizations that are responding at this very moment. Many of these organizations are members of the National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (NVOAD), as is Feeding America. NVOAD is working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and InterAction, an organization that supports the coordination of international nonprofits, humanitarian relief organizations, and the Center for International Disaster Information.

If you are looking for opportunities to help the victims of the earthquake, please consult the following online resources , where they can find opportunities to help:

• NVOAD: http://www.nvoad.org
• InterAction: http://www.interaction.org
• The Center for International Disaster Information: http://www.cidi.org/incident/haiti-10a/

Sincerely,
Vicki Escarra
President and CEO, Feeding America

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Nick Jonas Gives To The North Texas Food Bank!

January 14, 2010 at 4:37 pm (Food 4 Kids, In the News, Volunteer)
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Nick Jonas and Serena Pruitt Assemble Bags of Food 4 Kids

The North Texas Food Bank rang in the New Year with Mr. President himself, Nick Jonas. Just hours before he took the stage with the Administration on the opening night of his worldwide tour, Jonas spent a little time in our warehouse taking a tour, listening to a nutrition education class, and interviewing with NBC’s The Biggest Loser.

Much to the excitement of our 140 volunteers from Kroger and Chase, Jonas joined them on the Food 4 Kids line, assembling bags of healthy snacks for hungry North Texas kids to eat on the weekends. Then, with a group of kid volunteers, Jonas headed to the Community kitchen to learn a lesson in healthy eating from Nutrition Education Manager Katherine Lindholm.

Food Bank President and CEO Jan Pruitt’s granddaughter Serena , who joined us at the Food Bank for the festivities, told The Dallas Morning News that Jonas “inspires a lot of kids, including myself. He knows his rights and his wrongs, and he knows that other kids don’t have what he has. And he’s thankful for what he has.” Pruitt hopes that Jonas’ appearance at the Food Bank will inspire future generations of philanthropists to fight hunger.

NBC’s The Biggest Loser was on hand to help raise awareness for the Pound For Pound Challenge. For every pound pledged, General Mills will donate 14 cents, or the cost of delivering one pound of groceries, to Feeding America.

Before he left for sound check at the House of Blues, Jonas spoke to the crowd and thanked them for their service. He also spoke about the importance of young people getting involved and contributing to causes like fighting hunger.

Much to the surprise of our staff, Nick made a $25,000 donation to the Food Bank from the Jonas Brothers’ Children for the Children foundation after a brief consultation with his father. The youngest of the JoBros told Dallas Morning News reporter Diane Jennings “If there’s something I can do to help – volunteer here today or giving a financial gift – that’s something I can do.”

Nick’s donation will help provide meals for 100,000 people in the North Texas area.

Learn more about the Pound For Pound Challenge

Learn more about Food 4 Kids

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