Taco Bell and the Taco Bell Foundation for Teens, which seeks to inspire and enable America’s teens to graduate from high school, 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 from September 26 to October 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: 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,” says Amy Kavanaugh, executive director of the Taco Bell Foundation for Teens and vice president of public affairs and engagement at 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 FromHungertoHope.com.
