Ford Takes a Bite Out of Hunger

DEARBORN, Mich., Nov. 23, 2010 /PRNewswire/ --

• Thousands of seniors, homeless and families in need in southeast Michigan will enjoy hot meals and food packages during the holiday season with support from Ford Motor Company Fund and Ford Volunteer Corps.

• High school students in southeast Michigan can use their creativity to turn donated food items into a look-alike Ford Explorer and win a school-wide pizza party and school supplies.

• Ford Motor Company Fund and Newman's Own have donated trucks in all 50 states to affiliates of Feeding America, the nation's largest network of food banks.  

For more than 37 million Americans, Thanksgiving Day is another day of food insecurity, described in the 2010 study by Feeding America as not knowing where they will find their next meal.  Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) is partnering with Feeding America affiliate food banks and other organizations on a number of initiatives aimed at providing needed support.  

For high school students in southeast Michigan, Ford is creating a fun and unique way to get involved.  From Nov. 25 through Dec. 12, students at Wayne, Oakland and Macomb County high schools can compete for a school-wide pizza party and funds for school supplies by building a look-alike Ford Explorer from cans and non-perishable packaged food items that they collect.  Contest details are available at www.clickondetroit.com.  Pictures of school entries will be posted on this site, where the public can vote to determine the finalists on Dec. 13 and 14.  The winner and two runner-ups will be selected by Ford Explorer Exterior Design Manager Melvin Betancourt.  After the contest, Gleaners Food Bank will pick up and distribute the donated food in the tri-county area.

For 9,000 homebound seniors and homeless, Ford's support will mean a hot, fresh meal on Thanksgiving, with many meals packed and delivered by Ford employees who volunteer through Ford Volunteer Corps. Ford volunteers are partnering with Detroit Area Agency on Aging, Capuchin Soup Kitchen, Grace Centers of Hope and McWarm to prepare and deliver Thanksgiving Day meals in Wayne, Oakland and Macomb Counties.  

For thousands of families that depend on southeast Michigan agencies, Ford's support will mean weekend food backpacks, holiday food packages or holiday meals. More than 500 Ford employees in the Ford Volunteer Corps will sort and pack food, and prepare and serve meals at about 30 agencies as part of the Ford Accelerated Action Day on Dec. 3.  Ford Motor Company Fund is providing $50,000 to ten agencies to support this effort.  

For those that depend on food banks as far away as Anchorage, Alaska, Boise, Idaho, and Providence, Rhode Island, Ford's support means new refrigerated trucks on the road delivering fresh produce and other perishable food items. Nine trucks in those cities and elsewhere are joining a nationwide fleet of 98 vehicles in all 50 states -- part of a ten-year partnership with Newman's Own and Feeding America.  

"Along with our community partners, we are committed to the possibility of every family having enough to eat," said Jim Vella, president, Ford Motor Company Fund and Community Services.  "This season is a reminder of the privilege we all have to get involved and make a difference."  

Ford also has transformed Transit Connect vans into Ford Mobile Food Pantries for use by organizations in Michigan and Tennessee, and has provided support to community organizations in dozens of states nationwide.

ABOUT FORD MOTOR COMPANY FUND AND COMMUNITY SERVICES

Ford Motor Company Fund and Community Services works to build communities through partnerships that support education, driving safety and American heritage and community life.  Celebrating its 60th anniversary in 2009 and made possible by funding from Ford Motor Company, its programs include Ford Partnership for Advanced Studies, which provides high school students with academically rigorous, interactive learning experiences, and Ford Driving Skills for Life, a teen-focused safe driving initiative.  Through the Ford Volunteer Corps, more than 20,000 Ford employees and retirees participate in a wide range of volunteer projects in dozens of countries around the world. For more information, visit www.community.ford.com.

SOURCE Ford Motor Company