HUNGER ACTION HEROES UNITE! RALLIES STUDENTS IN ALL 50 STATES TO TAKE ACTION AGAINST HUNGER AND FOOD WASTE IN FREE NATIONAL CHALLENGE

Students in grades 4 through 9, across all 50 states and D.C., are encouraged to take action on hunger or food waste during Food Waste Prevention Week

SAN DIEGO, Sept. 28, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- At schools across the country, good food goes to waste every day, while some kids don't have enough to eat. Today, on the first day of Food Waste Prevention Week, Hunger Action Heroes Unite!, the youth education social enterprise of Feeding San Diego, is rallying kids to address hunger and food waste in their communities. Hunger Action Heroes Unite! launched a free National Challenge presented by Stoke Tracks and backed by a coalition that includes Let's Go Compost, Lunch Out of Landfills, ReFED, and World Wildlife Fund's Food Waste Warriors program, earlier this month. The challenge is open to students in grades four through nine who take action to rescue food to feed their neighbors.

Fourth and fifth-grade students at Creekside Elementary School in Poway Unified have already shown how kids can drive positive change. After reading the Hunger Action Heroes Unite! comic book and completing the curriculum, they ran a food drive, worked a volunteer shift, and ran a lemonade stand, together helping provide more than 9,100 meals for people facing hunger in their community. No adult told them to. There was no contest or prize. They just needed a reason to start, and that is what the National Challenge gives kids across the country.

Through the challenge, kids find out they can fix something. They can keep good food from going to waste to feed people who need it, and that is the part they remember. The prizes are real: a trip to Comic-Con 2027, a scholarship, and a grant for their school. But every kid who enters has already done something to rescue food or feed people in their own neighborhood before a judge ever sees their video. That does not depend on winning. Every student who participates walks away knowing they do not need a cape to be a hero.

The Hunger Action Heroes Unite! National Challenge is simple. A student identifies a real way to fight hunger or food waste, takes action, captures pictures and video, and reflects on their impact in three short questions. A guardian submits the entry on their behalf. It is open to students in grades four through nine in all 50 states and D.C., with entries accepted through March 12, 2027.

The need behind the Hunger Action Heroes Unite! National Challenge is significant. Food waste at schools is estimated to be $1.7 billion every year, according to World Wildlife Fund's Food Waste Warriors program, while Feeding America estimates that 1 in 5 kids in America face hunger, sometimes in the very cafeteria where that food gets thrown away.

"Food Waste Prevention Week and our National Challenge are asking kids the exact same question: what happens when you stop treating this as somebody else's problem, and kids step up to be the heroes," said Dana Williams, Director of Social Impact at Hunger Action Heroes Unite! and Feeding San Diego. "Once kids understand why this matters, it stops being a lesson and becomes their mission to rescue food to feed people and protect the planet."

A National Champion in each grade division, four through six and seven through nine, wins a paid trip to San Diego Comic-Con 2027 for them and a guardian, a $750 college scholarship, a $3,000 impact grant for their school, and $1,000 for a hunger relief or food rescue charity of their choice.

"Food Waste Prevention Week is about proving that everyday choices add up to real change," said Nate Clark, Senior Manager, Communications at ReFED. "Watching that message reach students directly through Hunger Action Heroes Unite! is exactly the kind of action we hope this week inspires."

Food Waste Prevention Week is September 28 through October 4, 2026. This year's theme is "Food Heroes in Your Neighborhood." Parents and guardians can submit entries for the Hunger Action Heroes Unite! National Challenge on behalf of their students at any point before entries close March 12, 2027, and are encouraged to use this week as a natural catalyst for taking action. Learn more and enter the Hunger Action Heroes Unite! National Challenge at hungeractionheroes.org/challenge.

OFFICIAL RULES: NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A PURCHASE WILL NOT IMPROVE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING. Contest begins on September 1, 2026 at 12:01 a.m. PT and ends on March 12, 2027 at 11:59 p.m. PT. Open only to legal adult U.S. residents of the fifty (50) United States and D.C. whose child is enrolled in grades 4 through 9 at the time of entry. Entries must be submitted by a parent or legal guardian on behalf of the child. One prize per contest division: grades 4-6 and grades 7-9. Prize travel must be completed between July 21 and July 26, 2027. Many will enter, only two (2) will win. Limit one (1) entry per child. Void where prohibited. See Official Rules at hungeractionheroes.org/challenge, including additional eligibility restrictions, prize descriptions/restrictions/ARVs, and complete details. Sponsor: Feeding San Diego, 9477 Waples St., Ste 100, San Diego, CA, 92121.

ABOUT HUNGER ACTION HEROES UNITE!

Hunger Action Heroes Unite! (HAHU) is a social enterprise of Feeding San Diego, a partner food bank of Feeding America, equipping the next generation with the understanding, empathy, and confidence to care for people and the planet. Through an original comic book and a standards-aligned curriculum for upper elementary and middle school, Hunger Action Heroes Unite! teaches students about hunger, food waste, and the power of empathy in action, inviting them to become real-life Hunger Action Heroes through a hands-on, project-based learning experience. The comic book was written by Dr. Janina Scarlet, a licensed clinical psychologist and creator of Superhero Therapy®, and illustrated by Thom Zahler, known for Love and Capes. All proceeds support Feeding San Diego's hunger relief and food rescue programs. Learn more at hungeractionheroes.org.

SOURCE Hunger Action Heroes Unite