Taco Bell and the Taco Bell Foundation For Teens Launch Effort To Help End World Hunger
Taco Bell to Focus Donations on Teens and Education as the Key to Ending Hunger; Consumers Encouraged to Join World Hunger Relief Effort
IRVINE, Calif., Oct. 1, 2013 /3BL Media/ – Taco Bell® and the Taco Bell Foundation for Teens™ – which seeks to inspire and enable America’s teens to graduate from high school – has announced that its seventh year of World Hunger Relief (WHR) efforts will focus on teens around the world.
Taco Bell’s support of Yum! Brands’ World Hunger Relief – which provides youth with meals in school – will focus on teens worldwide in an effort to keep them both nourished and educated. The Foundation’s support has inspired the lives of more than one million teens in the U.S. and now, Taco Bell will not only support the education of teens overseas, but also ensure they get a nutritious meal while at school.
To join the worldwide cause, the brand is encouraging all employees and the approximately 36 million consumers that visit Taco Bell restaurants each week to donate $1 to WHR between Sept. 26 to Oct. 17. Those donations – with every cent going to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) – help build sustainable farms in local economies by producing and purchasing wheat, maize, rice and blended foods that then are delivered as meals to hungry youth. @TacoBell demonstrated this process and how $1 feeds four meals through Vine today: https://vine.co/v/hgzF0qALJX5.
“After witnessing first-hand the number of teens that would have gone to bed hungry at night without meals from the World Food Programme, we deeply understood the incredible impact that World Hunger Relief provides and were inspired to do more,” said Amy Kavanaugh, executive director of the Taco Bell Foundation for Teens and vice president, public affairs and engagement, Taco Bell Corp. “We are extending Taco Bell’s ongoing commitment to teens here in the U.S. and the opportunities that education provides globally. We want young adults everywhere to wake up each day with the concentration and energy to continue playing and learning. The brand and our fans truly have an opportunity to change lives forever and help end the vicious cycle of poverty.”
Statistics from the WFP show that one in eight people across the world go to bed hungry and for many youth, their only meal is provided at school. Teens often drop out of school to work in fields, earn a wage and feed their families, but then miss out on education and job opportunities into adulthood, causing the hunger cycle to continue.
Consumers can join the movement of #letsendhunger and make a donation at all participating Taco Bell restaurants, where just one U.S. dollar provides four meals. Individuals eager to join the cause can also text “TBHOPE” to 90999 to donate $5 or visit HungertoHope.com.
About Taco Bell Corp.
Taco Bell Corp., a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc., (NYSE: YUM), is the nation's leading Mexican-inspired quick service restaurant. Taco Bell serves made to order and customizable tacos, burritos, and specialties such as the exclusive Doritos® Locos Tacos, gourmet inspired Cantina Bell® Menu and lower calorie Fresco Menu. The company encourages customers to “Live Más,” both through its food and in ways such as its Feed the Beat® music program and nonprofit organization, the Taco Bell Foundation for Teens™. Taco Bell and its more than 350 franchise organizations have nearly 6,000 restaurants across the United States that proudly serve more than 36 million customers every week.
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About Taco Bell® Foundation for Teens™
Taco Bell® Foundation Inc., also known as Taco Bell® Foundation for Teens™, is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) public benefit corporation committed to inspiring and enabling America’s teens to achieve más through its programs, partnerships, and direct financial assistance. Every year, the Foundation serves more than 100,000 teens in more than 180 communities across the country and awards more than 300 grants and scholarships focused on education and career preparedness. Since 1992, the Foundation has awarded more than $42 million in support of more than 1,000 teen-serving organizations in the U.S. through customer, franchisee, employee and vendor-partner donations. For more information visit tacobellforteens.org, and find us on Facebook at Facebook.com/TacoBell4Teens.
More on World Hunger Relief
There are nearly 1 billion hungry people around the world today. Hunger and malnutrition are the number one risk to health worldwide – greater than AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined. Yum! Brands’ World Hunger Relief effort is the world’s largest private sector hunger relief initiative, spanning more than 130 countries and nearly 39,000 Taco Bell, KFC and Pizza Hut restaurants worldwide. The campaign raises awareness, volunteerism and funds for WFP and other hunger relief agencies.
Since Yum! Brands' World Hunger Relief launched in 2007, more than 1.5 million of the Company's employees, franchisees and their families have volunteered millions of hours to aid hunger relief efforts in communities worldwide. The effort has raised nearly $150 million for WFP and other hunger relief organizations, and is helping to provide 600 million meals and save the lives of millions of people in remote corners of the world. For more information on World Hunger Relief, visit HungertoHope.com.
Contact:
Deb Bell – Taco Bell Corp. Jenna Rathke – Taylor
(949) 863-3915 (212) 714-5713
