Albertsons Companies Foundation And Entertainment Industry Foundation Named Finalists In The 2017 Halo Award For Hunger Is Campaign To End Childhood Hunger

BOISE, Idaho and LOS ANGELES, Feb. 22, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The Albertsons Companies Foundation and the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF) announced that Hunger Is, their joint charitable program designed to raise awareness and funds to end childhood hunger in America, has been nominated for two prestigious 2017 Halo Awards, North America's highest honor for corporate social initiatives and cause marketing.

The Halo Award, now in its 15^th year, is presented by Engage for Good, (formerly Cause Marketing Forum). The award honors businesses and nonprofits with Halos for "doing well by doing good." Hunger Is received nominations for Best Point of Sale Campaign and Best Social Service Campaign.

"Each year, as corporate social initiatives get more sophisticated, we receive an increasing number of strong submissions into the Halo Awards. Being named a finalist is an industry honor and demonstrates a level of accomplishment in campaigns that combine purpose and profit," said Engage for Good President David Hessekiel.

A total of 20 category awards will be given out to programs judged the best cause marketing campaigns of 2016 at the 15^th Annual Engage for Good conference in Chicago on June 1, 2017.

Golden-Globe-winning and Academy Award^®-nominated actress and humanitarian Viola Davis is the Hunger Is program's ambassador. To date, Hunger Is has raised more than $18 million and funded 273 programs to provide healthy food to children across the country. Funds are generated through in-store fundraising campaigns that include both customer donations at the check stand and donations generated by the purchase of participating products in more than 2,300 Albertsons Companies stores in 33 states throughout the U.S. Stores include Albertsons, Safeway, Vons, Jewel-Osco, Shaw's, ACME Markets, Tom Thumb, Randalls, United Supermarkets, Pavilions, Star Market, Carrs and others.

"It's a tremendous honor to be nominated for the Halo Award and to be recognized for our commitment to ending childhood hunger," said Christy Duncan Anderson, Executive Director of the Albertsons Companies Foundation. "Along with the Entertainment Industry Foundation and our tireless ambassador, Viola Davis, we've been able to increase access to healthy food, improve the nutritional quality of breakfast programs and expand weekend, summer and vacation meal programs. We're grateful to Engage for Good for recognizing these efforts and raising awareness about the problem of childhood hunger in America."

"We are so humbled and honored to be nominated for the 2017 Halo Award for Hunger Is," said Lisa Paulsen, President & CEO of the Entertainment Industry Foundation. "We are so proud of what Hunger Is has been able to accomplish, in collaboration with the Albertsons Companies Foundation and our incredible ambassador Viola Davis. We are so appreciative that Engage for Good has recognized Hunger Is' impact and for helping us raise awareness about this critical issue so we can put an end to childhood hunger in America." 

More information about the issue is available at HungerIs.org, along with simple ways for individuals to donate.

A list of the Halo Award finalists can be seen at www.engageforgood.com/halo-awards.

About Engage for Good
Engage for Good, producer of the Engage for Good conference and Halo Awards, helps business and nonprofit executives succeed together by providing practical information and inspiration, opportunities to build valuable relationships and recognition for outstanding work engaging employees and consumers around social good and cause-related marketing efforts.

A wealth of information on cause marketing, corporate social impact programs and Engage for Good's offerings can be found at http://www.engageforgood.com.

About Hunger Is
Hunger Is, a joint charitable program of the Albertsons Companies Foundation and the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF), is designed to build awareness and raise funds in an effort to eradicate childhood hunger in America. Funds raised through Hunger Is directly benefit programs focused on combating childhood hunger and improving health-related outcomes. For more information, visit www.HungerIs.org.

About the Albertsons Companies Foundation
Founded in 2001, the Albertsons Companies Foundation, formerly the Safeway Foundation, supports causes that impact our customers' lives. Albertsons Companies stores provide the opportunity to mobilize funding and create awareness in our neighborhoods through the generous contributions by our customers, our employees' passion and partnerships with our vendors. We focus on giving locally in the areas of health and human services, hunger relief, education and helping people with disabilities. Albertsons Companies and the Albertsons Companies Foundation have invested $2 billion in our neighborhoods since 2001. For more information about the Albertsons Companies Foundation, visit www.albertsonscompaniesfoundation.org.

About the Entertainment Industry Foundation
Founded in 1942, the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF) is a multifaceted organization that occupies a unique place in the world of philanthropy. By mobilizing and leveraging the powerful voice and creative talents of the entertainment industry, as well as cultivating the support of organizations (public and private) and philanthropists committed to social responsibility, EIF builds awareness and raises funds, developing and enhancing programs on the local, national and global level that facilitate positive social change.  For more information, visit www.eifoundation.org.

Media Contacts:

Hunger Is Social Media:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/hungerisorg (Page name: @Hunger Is)
Twitter: www.twitter.com/hungeris (Handle: @HungerIs)
Instagram: www.instagram.com/hunger_is (Username: @Hunger_Is)

Viola Davis Social Media:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/viola.davis (Page name: @Viola Davis)
Twitter: https://twitter.com/violadavis (Handle: @ViolaDavis)

SOURCE Albertsons Companies