Dream Dinners Provides 345,000 Meals in 2017 to Address Food Insecurity in the U.S. and Abroad

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Mar 01, 2018, 03:24 ET

SNOHOMISH, Wash., March 1, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Dream Dinners, and its nonprofit Dream Dinners Foundation, impacted communities across the U.S. and abroad in 2017 through Fight Against Hunger meal packaging events, fundraising initiatives, natural disaster relief and meal donations.

In 2017, Dream Dinners hosted four Fight Against Hunger events and packaged and distributed 345,000 meals, engaging nearly 1,000 volunteers. Its biggest efforts were providing relief in communities throughout Texas and Florida after Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, respectively.

During the events, several hundred volunteers assembled food packages scientifically designed to reverse the effects of malnutrition and starvation. Although a portion of the packages were distributed to local communities, the majority of meals were sent to Haiti, a country still suffering from the impacts of hurricanes and earthquakes.

Over the past three years, Dream Dinners has partnered with Friends & Family Community Connection (FFCC) to host 12 Fight Against Hunger events. Dream Dinners and its franchisees have raised $250,000, assembled more than 1 million meals with 300,000 going to food banks in the U.S. and the balance of the meals sent abroad to countries in need.

"Dream Dinners was founded on a mission to grow great kids by bringing families together around the dinner table and I am incredibly proud of what our franchisees and partners have been able to achieve," said Tina Kuna, Dream Dinners co-founder. "Not only were we able to make a positive impact in the markets we operate in, but we helped communities across the country and abroad with important disaster relief efforts."

In 2018, the Dream Dinners Foundation will partner with FFCC to host 10 Fight Against Hunger events:

Granada Hills, Calif. – March 3
Belmont, Calif. – March 10
Phoenix, Arizona – March 25
Kennewick, Wash. – May 6
Mill Creek, Wash. – May 7
Snohomish High School, Wash. – May 9
Redlands, Calif. – June 2
Wheat Ridge, Colo. – August 4
Austin, Texas – Sept. 8
Pearland, Texas – Sept. 9

"A few volunteer hours can do so much to address food insecurity and help those in need move toward sustainability," said Phil Harris, Dream Dinners franchisee and FFCC founder. "There are millions of people around the world who face food insecurity, malnutrition and starvation. FFCC and Dream Dinners believe wholeheartedly that every person deserves access to nutritious food. We can change lives one meal at a time."

The Fight Against Hunger initiative received national attention last fall, when the International Franchise Association recognized Harris and his wife Sheila and their work through their Dream Dinners franchise with the silver award in the Spirit of Franchising category. The award was presented during the Franchising Gives Back Celebration, which salutes the best, most innovative community leaders and charitable programs nationwide.

In addition to the packaging events, Dream Dinners guests were able to raise nearly $50,000 for the Dream Dinners Foundation through the "Meal of the Month" program in 2017. Launched in 2017, one dollar from every Meal of the Month sold in participating Dream Dinners stores is donated directly to the Foundation.

To learn more about the Dream Dinners Foundation (dba of the Living the Dream Foundation), visit https://dreamdinnersfoundation.org/.

Media Contact: Shannan Boyer, [email protected].

SOURCE Dream Dinners