PwC Charitable Foundation Commits $500K to Feeding America

NEW YORK, Dec. 16, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- To help ensure children do not go hungry this holiday season, the PwC Charitable Foundation, an independent 501(c)(3) established by PwC US, made a $500,000 donation today to PwC's national partner Feeding America. The donation will complement PwC's longstanding partnership with Feeding America to advance youth education in communities around the nation by ensuring hungry children do not fall behind academically due to hunger-related health problems.

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The donation marks the third year in a row that PwC and the PwC Foundation are giving more than $1 million during the holiday season.

Working with their nationwide network, Feeding America will help distribute these funds to their member food banks in communities throughout the United States to support local programs that fight youth hunger, such as:

• The BackPack Program: Acts as a supplement to the National School Lunch Program and supplies meals to children on the weekends, when the schools are closed. In 2009, the program served more than 190,000 children and food banks distributed more than 3.7 million packs of food.

• Kids Cafe and Afterschool Snack Program: Provides children with nutritious meals and snacks in a safe environment, and also offers nutritional education. In 2009, more than 124,000 children were served at Kids Cafe sites. The Afterschool Snack program provides snacks to children in places where meals are not possible due to logistical or structural constraints.

• The School Pantry Program: Currently operating at 12 food banks across the country, the school pantries provide a readily accessible source of food assistance to low-income children.  

• Summer Food Service Program: Established by the USDA, the Summer Food Service Program helps ensure low-income children have access to food when school is not in session. It is the single largest Federal resource for Feeding America network members that are developing summer activity and feeding programs.

"The PwC Charitable Foundation has been there for PwC families in times of need. Through this donation to Feeding America, we are extending our reach and helping thousands of children receive a healthy, nutritious meal to combat youth hunger," said Mary Ann Cloyd, PwC partner and president of the PwC Charitable Foundation.

Fourteen million or approximately 19 percent of children in the U.S. live in poverty and are expected to be hungry this holiday season. According to the USDA, more than 17 million children in this country are food insecure, which hampers a young person's ability to learn and increases their chances in suffering from poverty and becoming a productive citizen as an adult.

"We are thrilled to receive the PwC Charitable Foundation's generous donation, especially during this holiday season when children are most in need," said Vicki Escarra, president and CEO of Feeding America. "By providing these children with a filling meal, not only are we helping them not go hungry, we are giving them the opportunity to learn."

The donation supports the PwC Charitable Foundation's goal of helping families in times of need and crisis.  Immediately following the devastating earthquake in Haiti earlier this year, the PwC Charitable Foundation contributed more than $800,000 through its People who Care Fund and $4.4 million over the past three years to those in need.

The donation also builds upon PwC's commitment to advancing youth education in communities across the nations in order to develop future leaders. In FY'10, the firm donated more than $8.8 million to causes related to strengthening youth education and partnered with nonprofit organizations such as MIND Research Institute, Operation HOPE, Junior Achievement and United Way to increase proficiency in math and financial literacy in schools.

About the PwC Network

PwC firms provide industry-focused assurance, tax and advisory services to enhance value for their clients. More than 161,000 people in 154 countries in firms across the PwC network share their thinking, experience and solutions to develop fresh perspectives and practical advice. See www.pwc.com for more information.

© 2010 PwC. All rights reserved. "PwC" and "PwC US" refer to PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, a Delaware limited liability partnership, which is a member firm of PricewaterhouseCoopers International Limited, each member firm of which is a separate legal entity.

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 agencies 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.

SOURCE PwC