NFL Fans Team Up for Kick Hunger Challenge

MINNEAPOLIS, Sept. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- As the National Football League (NFL) season gets underway, fans now have another way to rally around their favorite teams while also raising desperately-needed funds for hunger relief.  Kicking off during September's Hunger Action month, "The Kick Hunger Challenge" is an online campaign spearheaded by Taste of the NFL (www.TasteoftheNFL.com). The "competition" pits fans from all 32 NFL teams against each other to raise money for food banks in NFL communities nationwide.

Throughout the 2010-11 football season, fans have the opportunity to support one of the 32 NFL teams and directly impact the donation of thousands of meals to food banks in their team's community.  The online-only campaign is an extension of the Taste of the NFL's events that unite the country's best chefs and the NFL's greatest to support hunger relief.  

"The Kick Hunger Challenge is a fun way to leverage the competitive spirit of NFL fans and engage  them in a friendly competition to see which team can raise the most money for their community's food banks," said Wayne Kostroski, TNFL founder. "Aside from TNFL events that happen throughout the year, we wanted to find another option for fans to support us in our mission to kick hunger in the U.S."  

Fans who register at www.TasteoftheNFL.com can create their own fan page to forward to family and friends and "draft" them to make a financial donation and be part of the challenge. Participants will be empowered to raise money to directly support their local food bank.

"This campaign has potential to raise a significant amount of money that can be immediately disbursed to help feed the 37+ million Americans who turn to their local food shelves for assistance," said Kostroski. "Just $10 provides 40 meals for those who are food insecure, so no donation is too small."

Super Bowl XLV marks the 20th anniversary of Taste of the NFL, which has distributed more than $10 million to food banks through its annual Party with a Purpose® event that pairs 32 of the country's best chefs with a current or alumni player from each NFL team for a food and wine tasting extravaganza. This year's event will take place at the Fort Worth Convention Center on Saturday, February 5, 2011.

SOURCE Taste of the NFL