Big Machine Label Group, General Mills and Feeding America® Partner with Multi-Platinum Artist Thomas Rhett for 2017 Outnumber Hunger Campaign

MINNEAPOLIS, Feb. 24, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Big Machine Label Group, General Mills and Feeding America^® have again joined together for the Outnumber Hunger Campaign, a nationwide effort aimed at fighting hunger in local communities across America. This year's program features country music's most-played artist of 2016, multi-ACM nominee, Thomas Rhett, as the campaign's spokesperson. 

Since its launch in 2011, Outnumber Hunger has helped secure more than 45 million meals for local families served by the Feeding America nationwide network of member food banks. This year, Thomas Rhett will be featured on the front of specially-marked packages of nearly 60 General Mills brands, including Cheerios™, Lucky Charms™, Nature Valley™ and Totino's™. Beginning March 1, individuals can purchase specially-marked products,  enter the code found on the packaging along with their zip code at Outnumberhunger.com to help Feeding America^® secure five meals* on behalf of their local member food bank.

"For more than 30 years, General Mills has partnered with Feeding America to raise awareness for hunger. It's through programs like Outnumber Hunger, that we get the opportunity to create unique ways to get our shoppers involved with the cause so that we can band together to help our local communities," said Kristin Merchant, integrated shopper marketing senior planner at General Mills. "As food insecurity continues to be an ongoing issue across the United States, we're proud to do our part as a company, and have outstanding partners like Big Machine Label Group, to put a spotlight on the cause so we can help to outnumber hunger." 

"With more than 45 million meals secured as a part of the Outnumber Hunger program, we wanted to find a way in 2017 to add another element to continue to expand this important program to help fight hunger," said Big Machine Label Group President Scott Borchetta. "We are thrilled to partner with General Mills and Feeding America once again and to add another dimension—with a Pandora Plus trial and exclusive Big Machine Label Group artist content—for fans and program participants. Using music to affect positive change is a cornerstone at Big Machine Label Group."

A long-time advocate for fighting hunger, CMA, ACM, Billboard Music and CMT Award-Winner Thomas Rhett has participated in the Outnumber Hunger campaign every year since its inception. Additionally, the multi-Platinum singer/songwriter has a history of holding numerous fan events, including his official Fan Club parties, to benefit Feeding America.

"It's great to have been part of the Outnumber Hunger Program since it started six years ago," said Thomas Rhett. "Being able to see the program's impact firsthand is a really amazing perspective to have, so I'm excited to be part of sharing their story and helping offer fans a way to help give back to their local communities."

This year, fans can also access special behind-the-scenes artist content featuring spokesperson Thomas Rhett and participating Big Machine Label Group artists, including iconic superstar Reba McEntire, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame members Cheap Trick, 2016 American Idol winner Trent Harmon, newly minted chart-topper Brett Young, Grammy^® Award-winning vocalist Jennifer Nettles and many more, at OutnumberHunger.com/Backstage. For the first time in the program's history, streaming service Pandora will also be a part of the Outnumber Hunger campaign, with an exclusive playlist curated by Big Machine Label Group featuring Thomas Rhett and a 30-day Pandora-Plus subscription trial.

Outnumber Hunger has included numerous components and support from platinum-selling BMLG artists including Rascal Flatts, Florida Georgia Line, Reba McEntire, Brantley Gilbert, Justin Moore, Eli Young Band and The Voice winners Cassadee Pope and Danielle Bradbery, who have performed during first-rate charity concerts and made visits to local food banks over the program's six-year history. This long-standing partnership has helped secure more than 45 million meals for Feeding America, the nation's largest domestic hunger-relief organization, and has helped to bring national awareness of the 1 in 8 Americans who struggle with food insecurity. 

"With more than 42 million people struggling with hunger, programs like Outnumber Hunger help to inform and engage the public," said Diana Aviv, CEO of Feeding America. "For the last six years, General Mills and Big Machine Label Group have worked with Feeding America to shine a light on hunger, an issue that exists in every county in America. We are grateful for their support and excited to be a part of Outnumber Hunger again this year."

For more information on Outnumber Hunger, visit Outnumberhunger.com/Backstage.

Full list of 2017 participating Outnumber Hunger Product Brands:
Cheerios™, Very Berry Cheerios™, Cookie Crisp, Reese's Puffs, Nature Valley™, Betty Crocker, Pillsbury™, Old El Paso™, Totino's^®, Fruit By The Foot, Fruit Roll-Ups, Scooby-Doo! Fruit Flavored Snacks, Mott's^® Medleys Assorted Fruit Flavored Snacks, Suddenly Salad, Gardetto's, Chex Mix Muddy Buddies, and Fiber One™.

*Editor's Note: For every code you enter by January 31, 2018, General Mills will donate 45¢ to Feeding America® – enough to secure 5 meals on behalf of local food banks. Maximum total donation of $700,000. General Mills has already donated $500,000. General Mills will donate up to an additional $200,000 based on online code entry and other consumer actions. Look for more information about the program at www.OutnumberHunger.com.

ABOUT THOMAS RHETT
With "a sky-rocketing Country career" (TODAY), Thomas Rhett recently earned his seventh career No. One with the fastest-rising single of his career "Star Of The Show," featured on his sophomore album TANGLED UP DELUXE (The Valory Music Co.), the track was co-written by Thomas Rhett, Rhett Akins and Ben Hayslip, and is the fourth to take the top position off his PLATINUM certified release. Filled with party anthems, dance tunes, drinking songs and love ballads, the 18-track TANGLED UP DELUXE (The Valory Music Co.) also includes his 2X PLATINUM Grammy-nominated six-week chart-topping smash "Die A Happy Man," which has garnered major trophies from the Country Music Association, Academy of Country Music, Billboard Music Awards, and CMT Music Awards. One of Rolling Stone's most anticipated tours of this year just became more explosive as Thomas Rhett extends his first-ever headlining 2017 HOME TEAM TOUR kicking off this week on Feb. 23 in Saginaw, MI. After drawing capacity crowds overseas last year, he returns as a "force to be reckoned with" (Daily Star) with plans to return to Europe while also making his debut headlining run in Canada in addition to US dates. For more information and for a full list of upcoming tour dates, visit www.thomasrhett.com.

ABOUT GENERAL MILLS
General Mills is a leading global food company that serves the world by making food people love. Its brands include Cascadian Farm, Cheerios, Annie's, Yoplait, Nature Valley, Fiber One, Haagen-Dazs, Betty Crocker, Pillsbury, Old El Paso, Wanchai Ferry, Yoki and more. Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, General Mills had fiscal 2016 worldwide sales of US $17.6 billion, including the company's US $1.0 billion proportionate share of joint-venture net sales. For more information about General Mills, visit www.generalmills.com.

ABOUT BIG MACHINE LABEL GROUP
Led by Founder, President and CEO Scott Borchetta, the Big Machine Label Group encompasses Big Machine Records, The ValoryMusic Co., BMLG Records, Dot Records, Nash Icon Records and publishing company Big Machine Music. BMLG artists include superstars Taylor Swift, Rascal Flatts, Reba McEntire, Florida Georgia Line, Hank Williams Jr., Ronnie Dunn, Steven Tyler, Cheap Trick, Jennifer Nettles and Brantley Gilbert; chart-topping acts Thomas Rhett, Justin Moore, Eli Young Band, Maddie & Tae, A Thousand Horses, Aaron Lewis, The Voice winners Cassadee Pope and Danielle Bradbery; up-and-comers The Cadillac Three, Drake White, Tucker Beathard, Brett Young, Tara Thompson, Midland, Carly Pearce, Delta Rae as well as soundtracks for the hit TV show "NASHVILLE." Borchetta served as the mentor on American Idol for Seasons 14 and 15. BMLG artists have received multiple GRAMMY, CMA, ACM, AMA, CMT, Teen Choice, MTV, Billboard, People's Choice and Brit Awards. Big Machine is the first-ever American label to align with terrestrial radio for performance royalty rights for its artists and is an industry leader in fighting for artist, songwriter, publisher and record company rights. Visit BigMachineLabelGroup.com for more information.

ABOUT FEEDING AMERICA
Feeding America^® is the nationwide network of 200 food banks that leads the fight against hunger in the United States. Together, we provide food to more than 46 million people through 60,000 food pantries and meal programs in communities across America. Feeding America also supports programs that improve food security among the people we serve; educates the public about the problem of hunger; and advocates for legislation that protects people from going hungry. Individuals, charities, businesses and government all have a role in ending hunger. Donate. Volunteer. Advocate. Educate.  Together we can solve hunger. Visit www.feedingamerica.org, find us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.

ABOUT PANDORA
Pandora is the world's most powerful music discovery platform – a place where artists find their fans and listeners find music they love. We are driven by a single purpose: unleashing the infinite power of music by connecting artists and fans, whether through earbuds, car speakers, live on stage or anywhere fans want to experience it. Our team of highly trained musicologists analyze hundreds of attributes for each recording which powers our proprietary Music Genome Project®, delivering billions of hours of personalized music tailored to the tastes of each music listener, full of discovery, making artist/fan connections at unprecedented scale. Founded by musicians, Pandora empowers artists with valuable data and tools to help grow their careers and connect with their fans.

www.pandora.com | @pandoramusic | www.pandoraforbrands.com | @PandoraBrands | amp.pandora.com

SOURCE General Mills

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