Second Harvest Heartland Announces 2015 Hunger Hero Awards

SAINT PAUL, Minn., April 7, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Second Harvest Heartland, a member of Feeding America and one of the nation's largest food banks, is pleased to announce the recipients of its sixth annual Hunger Hero Awards, an award created to honor and recognize organizational partners who make a compassionate and transformational impact on those who are hungry in the heartland.

Last year, 1 in 10 people in Minnesota and western Wisconsin were at risk of missing a meal on any given day. But as the demand for emergency food increased, so, too, did the generosity of many of Second Harvest Heartland's charitable partners, six of whom demonstrated extraordinary leadership in meeting the unprecedented demand for food. It is these six partners that Second Harvest Heartland honors this year with its Hunger Hero Award, a seal of appreciation designed to publicly acknowledge those who contributed the most by way of food, funds, hours, ideas, awareness, and more.

"Our mission – to end hunger through community partnerships – could not be achieved without the commitment and support from our incredible partners. By providing innovation, donations of food, volunteer hours, financial support, and help in building awareness of the need, these partners are making a difference to hungry neighbors in the communities we serve," said Second Harvest Heartland CEO Rob Zeaske.  "We are proud to recognize this year's Hunger Heroes for their leadership and are honored to be the recipients of such generous support."  

Hunger Heroes are recognized in six categories, each of which is critical to Second Harvest Heartland's work and all of which must work in tandem to collectively achieve Second Harvest Heartland's goal. This year's award recipients and categories include:

2015 Hunger Hero Innovation Award: The Boston Consulting Group (BCG)
Recent analysis by The Boston Consulting Group suggests that greater integration of the health care system and the hunger relief system could be one of the most important strategies to end hunger in Minnesota while improving health outcomes for patients. The Boston Consulting Group research was compelling—of the state's 100 million meals being missed per year, 30-45 million could be filled with the health care system's engagement, as many of those receiving health care are also food insecure. Exploration has begun to explore a beneficial intersection between hunger-relief partners and health care organizations through this compelling new research and outreach. Second Harvest Heartland is pursuing a series of pilot programs to evaluate and document the best interventions that can then be replicated broadly in Minnesota and nationally 

2015 Hunger Hero Financial Award: Cargill
Cargill provided significant philanthropic support to Second Harvest Heartland to advance initiatives such as the Produce Capture Institute and several other key fundraising efforts. Further accelerating its philanthropic investments, Cargill used its food industry expertise to assist Second Harvest Heartland in implementing new and innovative strategies that feed thousands of hungry people each year. The company's investments have enabled Second Harvest Heartland to develop new sources of safe, nutritious food, increase distribution capacity and support business model innovations that helped add millions of pounds of fresh produce last year.

2015 Hunger Hero Awareness Award: KARE 11  
When KARE 11 approached Second Harvest Heartland about doing a new food drive competition between their news anchors in November 2013, no one imagined the incredible visibility and generous outpouring of support from our local community. KARE 11's news anchors reached out to the community, engaged their social media followers and radio partners and the station ran promotions all day including main news stories during all four news broadcasts. The KARE 11 Food Fight generated amazing buzz throughout the community and resulted in more than 860,000 pounds of food donated in its first year and more than 1.4 million pounds last November.

2015 Hunger Hero Food Award: Kemps, LLC
Kemps achieved the largest growth in food donations among our partners and continually provided wholesome, highly-desired dairy products that help support families in our community. Milk, yogurt and other dairy products continue to be highly sought after items at food shelves throughout the region, and Kemps has demonstrated an exceptional commitment to helping fill this need. In fact, since the company's partnership with Second Harvest Heartland began in 2003, Kemps has donated a total of 2,244,053 pounds of product.  In addition to food donations, Kemps also works to assist the broader hunger relief system through involvement in initiatives such as the Minnesota Grocers Association's annual "Minnesota Own" fundraising and awareness campaign.

2015 Hunger Hero Food Rescue Award: Lunds & Byerly's
As Retail Food Rescue partners for more than a decade and one of the earliest donors to pioneer partnering directly with local food shelves, Lunds & Byerly's stores have helped Second Harvest Heartland transform hunger relief. Their longtime support continues to grow—not only in pounds, but in the types of food donated. The need for fresh, healthy food continues to rise, and Lunds & Byerly's delivers by donating more and more nutritious produce and other fresh food. In 2014, Lunds & Byerly's stores achieved the largest percentage increase in donations from the previous year by engaging their team members to donate all eligible fresh items through the Retail Food Rescue program.

2015 Hunger Hero Volunteer Award: Optum
Through widespread company commitment to ending hunger, volunteer partner Optum achieved an exceptional level of growth in hours contributed by the company's employees. In 2014, more than 640 Optum employees contributed 1,473 volunteer hours to help feed our hungry neighbors—a 181 percent increase in volunteer hours from 2013. Even more remarkable—these volunteer efforts were not orchestrated by one particular individual or department. Rather, they happened organically, with 36 different individuals taking the lead in scheduling and coordinating volunteer events on behalf of their Optum colleagues.

About The Boston Consulting Group
The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) is a global management consulting firm and the world's leading advisor on business strategy. We partner with clients from the private, public, and not-for-profit sectors in all regions to identify their highest-value opportunities, address their most critical challenges, and transform their enterprises. Our customized approach combines deep insight into the dynamics of companies and markets with close collaboration at all levels of the client organization. This ensures that our clients achieve sustainable competitive advantage, build more capable organizations, and secure lasting results. Founded in 1963, BCG is a private company with 81 offices in 45 countries.

About Cargill
Cargill provides food, agriculture, financial and industrial products and services to the world. Together with farmers, customers, governments and communities, we help people thrive by applying our insights and 150 years of experience. We have 143,000 employees in 67 countries who are committed to feeding the world in a responsible way, reducing environmental impact and improving the communities where we live and work. For more information, visit Cargill.com and our News Center.

About KARE 11 
KARE 11, owned by Gannett Co., Inc., is the NBC affiliate in Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minn. The station's mission is to serve the greater good and make our community a better place. Recognized for outstanding journalism, a commitment to excellence, and dedication to the community; KARE 11 is Minnesota's Own.

About Kemps, LLC
Kemps, based in St Paul, MN, is a manufacturer and marketer of dairy and frozen desserts products. The company operates six manufacturing facilities, with approximately 1,260 employees. The Kemps brand has been nourishing families in the Upper Midwest with fresh milk and delicious ice cream since 1914. Kemps is owned by Dairy Farmers of America; all of Kemps proceeds go back to America's dairy farmers.

About Lunds & Byerly's
With 26 locations throughout the Twin Cities and surrounding area, Lunds & Byerly's is family-owned and committed to providing every customer with a sensational shopping experience. The company's extended family of employees has an unwavering focus on exceeding expectations through extraordinary food, exceptional service and passionate expertise. Learn more at www.LundsandByerlys.com.

About Optum
Optum is a leading health services and innovation company dedicated to helping make the health system work better for everyone. With more than 85,000 people collaborating worldwide, Optum combines technology, data and expertise to improve the delivery, quality and efficiency of health care. For more information, visit www.Optum.com.

About Second Harvest Heartland
Second Harvest Heartland is one of the nation's largest, most efficient and most innovative food banks.  In 2014, we delivered more than 74 million meals to over 1,000 food shelves, pantries and other agency partner programs serving 59 counties in Minnesota and western Wisconsin. Second Harvest Heartland helps relieve hunger not only by sourcing, warehousing and distributing food, but through data-driven thought leadership and community partnerships that help improve the region's larger hunger relief system. For more information, visit 2harvest.org or call 651.484.5117.

SOURCE Second Harvest Heartland

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http://www.2harvest.org