Vons Launches 'Help Us End Hunger' Food Drive to Benefit FOOD Share

Online, July 6, 2011 (Newswire.com) - (Ventura County, CALIF.) - From now through July 24, all Ventura County Vons supermarkets are partnering with FOOD Share to help fill the regional food bank's shelves.

Over the summer months, food donations to FOOD Share tend to drop dramatically, despite the fact that demand for food assistance continues to soar. Unemployed and low-income parents, whose children receive free or reduced-priced school meals during the school term, are forced to turn to other nutrition assistance programs for help feeding their children during the summer months.

Vons is helping FOOD Share fill the gap created by this increased demand with its "Help Us End Hunger" campaign which runs through July 24 at all Ventura County Vons supermarket locations.

"There is always a focus on food donations around the holidays but the reality is that FOOD Share needs food 365 days a year," said Carlos Illingworth, Vons' Manager of Public Affairs & Government Relations. "Our goal is to help FOOD Share when they need it the most, over the summer months, when thousands of Ventura County school children are no longer receiving free school meals."

Customers are invited to purchase pre-packed bags of food for $10 which includes some of FOOD Share's most needed food items - peanut butter, canned tuna, canned fruits and vegetables, macaroni & cheese, and cereal - and drop them in FOOD Share's famous yellow food drive barrels at the front of the store.

"Vons has been a long-term supporter of FOOD Share and their help this summer could not have come at a better time," said Bonnie Weigel, CEO of FOOD Share. "More and more hungry friends need our help and this food drive will help ensure that we keep our shelves stocked throughout the summer months."

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About FOOD Share

The food bank distributing millions of pounds of food each year to those in need throughout Ventura County, FOOD Share collects and receives food year-round, distributing through more than 150 pantry partner agencies throughout Ventura County, including Camarillo, Fillmore, Moorpark, Oak View, Ojai, Oxnard, Santa Paula, Simi Valley, Somis, Thousand Oaks, and Ventura.

FOOD Share provides food to more than 73,500 people each month countywide through its partner agencies and multiple programs. Programs include the Senior Brown Bag that provides supplemental nutrition to nearly 2,000 low income seniors, home delivered meals and supplemental groceries through the Oxnard and Ventura Senior Nutrition Programs and, the Kids' Farmers' Markets, offering nutrition education, healthy recipe preparation and taste testing and a farmers' market free fresh produce "shopping experience."

In 2011, FOOD Share partnered with Ventura County's Human Services Agency to provide expanded CalFresh enrollment assistance. CalFresh, formerly called food stamps, is the largest federal nutrition assistance program that provides supplemental nutrition assistance to eligible Ventura County residents.

For more information: call (805) 983-7100 or go to http://www.foodshare.com.