Ben's Original™ and No Kid Hungry® Continue Partnership to Provide 2.5 Million Meals* to Kids Facing Hunger Across the US

The leading rice brand, proudly part of Mars, calls on "After School Heroes," continuing its commitment to help address food insecurity and childhood hunger 

CHICAGO, July 13, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Ben's Original™ continues their "Be an After-School Hero" program benefitting No Kid Hungry®, a national campaign to end childhood hunger in America. From July 3 to November 12 this year, for every $1 spent on participating Ben's Original products, $1 will be donated to No Kid Hungry, which will help provide 10 meals, and a total commitment of 2.5 million meals* to children throughout the United States.

For more than 70 years, Ben's Original has provided families around the globe with high-quality rice that's nutritious, flavorful and easy to prepare. But for many families across the country, three healthy meals a day aren't guaranteed. As part of the Ben's Original ambition to create a more inclusive future while maintaining its commitment to producing the world's best rice, the brand has extended its collaboration with the No Kid Hungry campaign to combat childhood hunger and food insecurity. Every $1 spent = $1 donated to No Kid Hungry, which can help provide 10 meals to kids.

"Many children face the challenge of not having a reliable source of nutritious food on a daily basis," said Angie Madigan, Vice President of Marketing, Mars Food & Nutrition North America. "We are honored to help continue our partnership with No Kid Hungry to provide nutritious meals for children this summer and into the fall season. Together we continue our brand commitment to work toward a more equitable future and to create opportunities that offer everyone a seat at the table and access to healthy meals." 

Consumers can participate in the program and help children facing hunger by purchasing Ben's Original at their local retailers, Amazon and online, for every $1 spent on participating Ben's Original products, $1 will be donated to No Kid Hungry, with a minimum commitment of $100,000 and a maximum commitment of $250,000*. Available in a variety of flavors and formats, including Ready Rice™, the portfolio provides a convenient and tasty meal options ready in just 90 seconds.

"In the past ten years, we have identified and addressed huge gaps in child nutrition programs," said Diana Hovey, Senior Vice President at Share Our Strength, the organization behind the No Kid Hungry campaign. "It's an honor to continue our partnership with Ben's Original™ brand to make sure every child gets three nutritious meals a day for healthy growth and development. It's going to take all of us to build a better future for our kids facing food insecurity, poor health outcomes and poverty."

To learn more about the brand's "Be an After-School Hero" program, visit BensOriginal.com or check out the Ben's Original brand on Facebook and Instagram.

About Mars, Incorporated
For more than a century, Mars, Incorporated has been driven by the belief that the world we want tomorrow starts with how we do business today. This common purpose unites our 140,000+ Associates. It is at the center of who we are as a global, family-owned business, and it fuels how we are transforming, innovating, and evolving to make a positive impact on the world.

Every year, our diverse and expanding portfolio of quality confectionery, food, and pet care products and services delight millions of people and supports millions of pets. With around $48 billion in annual sales, we produce some of the world’s best-loved brands including Ben’s Original™, Masterfoods®, DOLMIO®, CESAR®, CocoaVia®, DOVE®, EXTRA®, KIND®, M&M’s®, SNICKERS®, PEDIGREE®, ROYAL CANIN®, and WHISKAS®. We are creating a better world for pets through nutrition, breakthrough programs in diagnostics, wearable health monitoring, DNA testing, pet welfare, and comprehensive veterinary care with AniCura, BANFIELD™, BLUEPEARL™, Linnaeus, and VCA™.

We know we can only be truly successful if our partners and the communities in which we operate prosper. The Mars Five Principles – Quality, Responsibility, Mutuality, Efficiency, and Freedom – inspire our Associates to act every day to help create a better world tomorrow in which the planet, its people, and pets can thrive.

Mars Food & Nutrition is a segment of Mars, Incorporated with 2,000 Associates across 30 countries. It has some of the world’s leading food brands: Ben’s Original™, Masterfoods®, SEEDS OF CHANGE®, Tasty Bite®, foodspring™, and DOLMIO®. For more information about Mars, please visit www.mars.com. Join us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube.

About No Kid Hungry

No child should go hungry in America. But millions of kids in the United States live with hunger. No Kid Hungry is working to end childhood hunger by helping launch and improve programs that give all kids the healthy food they need to thrive. This is a problem we know how to solve. No Kid Hungry is a campaign of Share Our Strength, an organization committed to ending hunger and poverty.

*$1 can help provide 10 meals. Donations help support programs that feed kids; No Kid Hungry does not provide individual meals. Learn more at NoKidHungry.org/OneDollar.

SOURCE Mars, Incorporated