NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--HelloFresh, the world’s leading meal kit provider, announced today the launch of a new partnership with No Kid Hungry, a campaign through Share Our Strength, to support their critical work to end childhood hunger in America—starting with filling the summer hunger gap.
According to No Kid Hungry, as many as 13 million children, or one in five kids in the US, live in households facing food insecurity, meaning they do not have enough food for every family member to lead a healthy life. This issue becomes even more urgent during the summer and other school breaks, when millions of kids lose access to the meals they receive at school.
New data commissioned by HelloFresh explores this complex reality for so many families. The Hunger Matters for Families Report, a nationally representative survey of American parents, found:
- Providing food is financially stressful for parents: Nearly half (44 percent) of parents are more worried today than they were this time last year about putting food on the table for their children. 41 percent of parents struggle in some way to provide food for their household when kids are out of school.
- Parents are making sacrifices: Among parents who struggle to provide food for everyone in their household, 42 percent reported skipping meals or reducing food intake for themselves to ensure their kids had enough food. 60 percent of those parents have budgeted more carefully and 52 percent have cut back on other expenses.
- School breaks are a particularly hungry time: More than a third (36 percent) of parents have a friend or relative who has experienced food insecurity when their kids don’t receive in-school meals.
- Greater support is needed: Parents who struggle to provide food for everyone in their household said the most helpful resources for keeping kids fed during breaks are government programs (48 percent), education on meal planning and nutrition (35 percent) and more support from community organizations or businesses (33 percent).
“No child should grow up hungry, and no parent should have to live with the daily stress of deciding between buying groceries and paying bills,” said Uwe Voss, chief executive officer of HelloFresh North America. “We are proud to double down on our commitment to closing the hunger gap by partnering with No Kid Hungry, an outstanding campaign with a proven track record of success in helping children across the country access the food they need to thrive.”
Fighting Summer Hunger, One Community at a Time, through the 13 for 13 Million Campaign
HelloFresh and No Kid Hungry will kick off their partnership with the 13 for 13 Million campaign, an effort to raise awareness of childhood food insecurity and its effect on 13 million kids nationwide. As part of the 13 for 13 Million campaign, HelloFresh will be supporting 13 communities across the country by hosting meal kit distribution events, installing “pop-up” community food pantries and pointing families to resources from No Kid Hungry.
HelloFresh will host distribution events with the help of local nonprofits in Atlanta, GA; Dallas and Fort Worth, TX; Denver, CO; Newark, NJ; New York City, NY; Swedesboro, NJ; Aurora, IL and Phoenix, AZ that will feature meal kits with wholesome, family-friendly recipes. In addition, the “pop-up” community food pantries, designed to look like HelloFresh boxes, will be stocked with non-perishable food items in Villa Park, IL; Bethesda, MD; Fort Lauderdale, FL; Cleveland, OH and New Orleans, LA. HelloFresh and the local partners that are hosting these pantries encourage community members to drop off and take items as needed throughout the summer.
Supporting Individuals in Need with Meal Kit Grants
HelloFresh will also keep nominations for its LimeAid program, which provides the chance for families in need to receive three months of free HelloFresh meal kits, open through the summer. Anyone across the country can nominate a friend, loved one or neighbor to receive food for the summer, and the HelloFresh team will choose recipients at random. Last year, HelloFresh supported 200 families through this program. Nominations can be made here.
Partnering for Greater Impact
Throughout the year, HelloFresh provides immediate and direct relief to families in need by donating surplus ingredients, finished meal kits, employee volunteer hours and money and other resources to organizations fighting food insecurity and food waste. Specifically, the company provides 40,000 meal kits each week to people in need through its Meals with Meaning program, with the help of local partners across the country. The 13 for 13 Million distribution events build upon the community impact HelloFresh and its partners have made through Meals with Meaning, with the intention of serving kids and families. Thanks to the same dedicated partners who help make Meals with Meaning possible, more families and kids will have access to food this summer.
HelloFresh is taking its efforts to the next level by partnering with No Kid Hungry and supporting the campaign’s work advocating for systemic change and addressing the root causes of hunger, from low wages to the high cost of healthy foods. The meal kit company will continue these actions year-round through customer education, donations and more.
“No Kid Hungry’s promise is to build a nation where every child in every community has access to the food they need, every day,” said Allison Shuffield, Managing Director of Corporate Partnerships at Share Our Strength, the organization behind the No Kid Hungry campaign. “We are proud of our partnership with HelloFresh, which is helping us deliver on this promise by combining resources for families and timely insights to help guide our work in ending childhood hunger in America.”
To learn more about how HelloFresh and No Kid Hungry are fighting childhood food insecurity and to join in the action, please visit hellofresh.com/pages/nokidhungry.
ABOUT HELLOFRESH
HelloFresh is the world’s leading meal-kit company, providing customers with fresh, high-quality ingredients to cook delicious meals at home. By delivering pre-portioned ingredients and easy-to-follow recipes directly to customers' doors, HelloFresh helps busy individuals and families enjoy home-cooked meals without the hassle of meal planning and grocery shopping. HelloFresh was voted the Most Trusted Meal Kit Delivery Service in America from 2021 through 2023 by Newsweek. For more information, visit www.hellofresh.com or follow HelloFresh on Facebook, X, Instagram, or TikTok.
ABOUT HELLOFRESH GROUP
The HelloFresh Group is a global food solutions group and the world's leading meal kit provider. The HelloFresh Group consists of eight brands that provide customers with high quality food and recipes for different meal occasions including HelloFresh, Green Chef, EveryPlate, Chefs Plate, Factor, Youfoodz, The Pets Table and Good Chop. The Company was founded in Berlin in November 2011 and operates in the USA, the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Australia, Austria, Switzerland, Canada, New Zealand, Sweden, France, Denmark, Norway, Italy, Ireland and Spain. In Q1 2024 HelloFresh Group delivered over 272 million meals globally. HelloFresh SE went public on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange in November 2017 and is currently traded on the MDAX (Mid-Cap German Stock Market Index). For more information, visit www.hellofreshgroup.com.
ABOUT NO KID HUNGRY
No child should go hungry in America. But millions of kids in the United States live with hunger. No Kid Hungry is working to end childhood hunger by helping launch and improve programs that give all kids the healthy food they need to thrive. This is a problem we know how to solve. No Kid Hungry is a campaign of Share Our Strength, an organization committed to ending hunger and poverty.
