Bob Evans Farms® Raises $500,000 to Support Local Families in Need
Guests Rally for Hunger Free Communities campaign, Help Fight Hunger in their Communities this Holiday Season
NEW ALBANY, Ohio, Feb. 5, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Bob Evans, founder of Bob Evans Farms, used to say that at his restaurants, they "treat strangers like friends and friends like family." That's why this past holiday season, Bob Evans Farms launched a Hunger Free Communities campaign to help end hunger – and guests stepped up in a big way to feed their neighbors in need.
From Oct. 31 to Dec. 25, by making $1, $5 or $10 donations in restaurant and online, guests raised more than $500,000, the equivalent of 1.5 million meals, to purchase Bob Evans complete holiday meals called Farmhouse Feasts. Employees then delivered the complete holiday meals to local soup kitchens, shelters and other emergency feeding agencies that participate in the Bob Evans harvest program.
"We are overwhelmed by the generosity of our guests and the support of our employees and partners," says Chairman and CEO of Bob Evans Farms, Steven A. Davis. "We consider the communities in which we operate to be an extension of our family, so it feels good knowing we helped make the holidays a little brighter for families in need this holiday season."
Bob Evans kicked off its Hunger Free Communities campaign at the grand opening of its new corporate campus in New Albany, Ohio, on Oct. 26, with a $50,000 contribution to Mid-Ohio Foodbank's fresh food initiative. An estimated three to five billion pounds of fresh produce grown in the U.S. each year doesn't make it to market. The Mid-Ohio Foodbank is leading the national effort to get more fresh produce from farmers' fields to the plates of hungry families.
The company also donated 15 percent of participating guests' checks on November 7 through a nationwide community fundraiser, totaling $10,000 to support the cause. A large donation of the company's signature fresh pork sausage, roughly 18,000 meals, was also donated to the Mid-Ohio Foodbank by its BEF Foods, Inc. segment.
As part of the campaign, Bob Evans is also recognizing an employee "community champion" who exemplifies the values of its BE Kind initiative and who led the success of the Hunger Free Communities campaign. The Bloomington, Ill., restaurant, led by general manager Patrick Hickey, raised more than $11,000 for the Mid-West Foodbank in Illinois through their efforts in the campaign, thanks to the generosity of their community.
To learn more ways that Bob Evans is giving back, visit http://www.bobevans.com/bekind.
ABOUT BOB EVANS FARMS, INC.
Bob Evans Farms, Inc. owns and operates full-service restaurants under the Bob Evans Restaurants brand name. At the end of the second fiscal quarter (October 25, 2013), Bob Evans Restaurants owned and operated 561 family restaurants in 19 states, primarily in the Midwest, mid-Atlantic and Southeast regions of the United States. Bob Evans Farms, Inc., through its BEF Foods, Inc. segment, is also a leading producer and distributor of refrigerated side dishes, pork sausage and a variety of refrigerated and frozen convenience food items under the Bob Evans and Owens brand names. For more information about Bob Evans Farms, Inc., visit www.bobevans.com.
SOURCE Bob Evans Farms, Inc.
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