Target Partners with Kraft Foods and Procter & Gamble to Combat Childhood Hunger and Support Academic Achievement

MINNEAPOLIS, July 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Target today announced its continued support to help end childhood hunger and support K-12 education by partnering with Kraft Foods and Procter & Gamble to donate up to $800,000 to Feeding America™.  From July 11 to August 14, when Target guests purchase select Kraft Foods and Procter & Gamble products at any local Target store, five percent of the total sales of those products will be donated to Target Meals for Minds – an innovative school food pantry program that brings food to schools to help feed children and families in need across the country.  The program donation is part of Target's $3.5 million total 2010 commitment to Feeding America and local food banks nationwide to help combat childhood hunger and its impact on learning.  

"When children are hungry, they have trouble staying alert and can fall behind in school," said Laysha Ward, president, community relations, Target. "This in-store promotion reinforces Target's commitment to putting more kids on the path to graduation and allows our guests to help kids meet their academic potential by purchasing products already on their shopping lists."

Through this exclusive promotion, Target guests can help feed the more than 17 million children and their families in America who are faced with hunger by purchasing products such as select varieties of Kraft® Macaroni & Cheese Dinner, Maxwell House® Coffee, and Planters® nuts, as well as Cheer® laundry detergent, Bounty® paper towels and Pampers® among other items. To view a complete list of designated Kraft Foods and Procter & Gamble products or for more information about the Target Meals for Minds program, visit Target.com/mealsforminds.  Target also will publicize the promotion through its weekly ad and in-store signing at stores across the country.  

"P&G has been a proud supporter of Feeding America for more than 20 years. Partnering with Target to support Target Meals for Minds is a natural extension of that relationship.  Through our company's cause (Live, Learn and Thrive), we aim to reach more than 50 million children in need every year with programs that help them get off to a healthy start, receive access to education, and build skills for life.  Supporting Target Meals for Minds makes a meaningful difference in the lives of children, who are our future," said Joanne Harris, Procter & Gamble's Target team leader.

"Fighting hunger is Kraft Foods' biggest opportunity to give back to the community.  We've partnered with Feeding America for decades to do just that, through our food donations and our mobile food pantries that deliver fresh produce and meal-time staples to hungry families," said Dave Cichocki, Customer Vice President for Kraft Foods.  "We're thrilled to join Target to help expand this innovative school pantry program to reach even more people in need."

Target began piloting the Target Meals for Minds school food pantry program last spring in Minneapolis/St. Paul, Miami, Baltimore, Los Angeles and Chicago. The pilot schools were selected by participating food banks, in cooperation with local schools.  At each school, a majority of students qualify for participation in the free and reduced-price lunch program.   The school food pantry program provides families with emergency food assistance, helping them bring home the ingredients to build balanced meals and feed healthy minds.  

As part of the pilot, Target is partnering with Feeding America to develop the tools needed to help local food banks bring the Target Meals for Minds school food pantry program to more schools in their communities. Currently, a number of school food pantry models are being tested, including in-school and mobile pantry versions.  Target also is developing best practices to incorporate nutrition education into the Target Meals for Minds program and to drive parental engagement in schools.

Target has partnered with Feeding America since 2001 in its fight to end hunger in the U.S. Target donated an estimated 19.6 million pounds of food and other products to Feeding America in 2009, and in 2010 Target is projected to donate more than 20 million pounds of food to help feed children and families across the country.

About Procter & Gamble

Four billion times a day, P&G brands touch the lives of people around the world. The company has one of the strongest portfolios of trusted, quality, leadership brands, including Pampers®, Tide®, Ariel®, Always®, Whisper®, Pantene®, Mach3®, Bounty®, Dawn®, Gain®, Pringles®, Charmin®, Downy®, Lenor®, Iams®, Crest®, Oral-B®, Actonel®, Duracell®, Olay®, Head & Shoulders®, Wella®, Gillette®, Braun® and Fusion®. The P&G community includes approximately 135,000 employees working in about 80 countries worldwide. In these countries and beyond, P&G is committed to improving lives for children in need through its global cause, Live, Learn and Thrive.  Every day P&G Live, Learn and Thrive™ is helping children get off to a healthy start, receive access to education, and build skills for life.  Please visit http://www.pg.com for the latest news and in-depth information about P&G, its brands, and Live, Learn and Thrive.

About Feeding America

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

About Kraft Foods Support of Hunger and Healthy Lifestyles

Kraft Foods is taking a stand when it comes to fighting hunger and promoting healthy lifestyles.  The company, along with the Kraft Foods Foundation, is addressing food insecurity through an integrated approach to affect lasting change. The company is meeting the immediate needs of the hungry with direct aid through financial contributions and donations of food.  Kraft Foods and its Foundation have donated nearly $1 billion in cash and food to organizations since 1990.  In the United States alone, they've provided over one billion servings of food during the past 10 years.

About Target

Minneapolis-based Target Corporation (NYSE: TGT) serves guests at 1,740 stores in 49 states nationwide and at Target.com. Target is committed to providing a fun and convenient shopping experience with access to unique and highly differentiated products at affordable prices. Since 1946, the corporation has given 5 percent of its income through community grants and programs like Take Charge of Education. Today, that giving equals more than $3 million a week.

SOURCE Target