Land O'Lakes Joins Feeding America to Launch Pin-A-Meal, Give-A-Meal

SAINT PAUL, Minn., March 6, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- For every Land O'Lakes recipe pinned on Pinterest, the Land O'Lakes Foundation will donate $1 up to $250,000 to Feeding America^® to help fight hunger in the United States.

The Pin-A-Meal Campaign kicked off March 4 and will run through May 1. One in six Americans is struggling with hunger, including nearly 17 million children and four million seniors. The Land O'Lakes Foundation and Land O'Lakes Dairy Foods are partnering with Feeding America, the nation's largest domestic hunger-relief organization, to help address food insecurity.

"The Land O'Lakes Foundation is committed to addressing hunger across the country," said Lydia Botham, executive director of the Land O'Lakes Foundation. "We want to raise awareness of the increasing number of people—especially in rural communities—of all ages who cannot afford to put food on the table and who go hungry. The Pin-A-Meal, Give-A-Meal Campaign leverages the social media platform Pinterest to engage people who enjoy recipes and want to help with hunger issues nationally. "

Every $1 donated to Feeding America equals eight meals.

"We are excited to take advantage of the growing interest in Pinterest to help provide meals to families in need throughout the country," said John Ellenberger, vice president and general manager, Land O'Lakes Retail Foods.  "We know that a growing number of individuals are looking to Pinterest to find recipes to help them plan creative meals, and the landolakes.com site offers a great selection to choose from."

"We're delighted to team up again with Land O'Lakes on the Pin-A-Meal, Give-A-Meal Pinterest campaign," said Leah Ray, vice president of corporate partnerships for Feeding America. "The simple act of sharing new recipes with friends now can help support families in need."

In 2010, the Land O'Lakes Foundation launched the Feeding Our Communities initiative, a project designed to address hunger in the communities in which Land O'Lakes employees and members live and work. Each year, Land O'Lakes donates truckloads of fresh product to food banks. In 2012, Land O'Lakes donated more than $1.9 million in cash and product to fight hunger across the country, especially in rural areas.

The Land O'Lakes Facebook and Twitter pages and website will feature recipes visitors can share on Pinterest. The pins and repins will be tracked, and the donation will be made to Feeding America, a long-time partner of Land O'Lakes.

People who aren't on Pinterest can donate to Feeding America by visiting http://www.feedingamerica.org/landolakes.

Feeding America provides low-income individuals and families with the fuel to survive and even thrive. As the nation's leading domestic hunger-relief charity, our network members supply food to more than 37 million Americans each year, including 14 million children and 3 million seniors. Serving the entire United States, more than 200 member food banks support 61,000 agencies that address hunger in all of its forms. For more information on how you can fight hunger in your community and across the country, visit http://www.feedingamerica.org. Find us on Facebook at facebook.com/FeedingAmerica or follow our news on Twitter at twitter.com/FeedingAmerica.

Land O'Lakes and the Land O'Lakes Foundation have always been leaders in the many communities where they have members, employees, plants and facilities. The Land O'Lakes Foundation proactively helps rural communities by donating resources that develop and strengthen organizations dedicated to hunger relief, education and the community.

Land O'Lakes, Inc. (www.landolakesinc.com) is a national, farmer-owned food and agricultural cooperative with annual sales of more than $14 billion. The nation's second-largest cooperative and number 210 on the Fortune 500, Land O'Lakes does business in all 50 states and more than 60 countries. It is a leading marketer of a full line of dairy-based consumer, foodservice and food ingredient products across the United States; serves its international customers with a variety of food and animal feed ingredients; and provides farmers and ranchers with an extensive line of agricultural supplies (feed, seed, and crop protection products and services) under the operations of Winfield Solutions and Purina Animal Nutrition. Land O'Lakes also provides agricultural assistance and technical training in more than 25 developing nations.

SOURCE Land O'Lakes, Inc.