FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 21, 2016
Contact: Andrew Jerome, 202-314-3106
ajerome@nfudc.org
WASHINGTON (March 21, 2016) – Food insecurity is a problem for millions of Americans across the country, and the National Farmers Union (NFU) has pledged to contribute to nationwide hunger relief through a renewed commitment to Feeding America’s Invest An Acre program. Following an announcement at the NFU 114th Anniversary Convention in Minneapolis, the organization officially kicked off its fundraising efforts this week.
“We often associate food insecurity with impoverished foreign nations, but we cannot ignore the hunger problem here at home in many rural communities,” said NFU President Roger Johnson. “As family farmers and ranchers, we have a responsibility to help families in need through local hunger relief efforts.”
More than 48 million Americans lived in food-insecure households in 2014, according to the USDA. To combat the problem in rural America, the domestic hunger relief organization created Invest An Acre to make it easy for farmers to donate a portion of their crop proceeds to the food bank serving their local community. Every dollar donated by farmers is matched by Monsanto to double the impact.
“Food insecurity is not an individual problem; it can take a toll on an entire community. We are proud to renew our partnership with Feeding America and to continue NFU’s longstanding support of hunger relief efforts in rural America,” commented Barbara Patterson, a government relations representative with NFU, who is coordinating the renewed partnership.
From 2011 to 2014, NFU and its members contributed nearly $200,000 to various hunger relief initiatives through Feeding America, the Invest An Acre program and local food banks.
More information about NFU’s involvement in Invest An Acre and ways to donate is available at http://www.nfu.org/feeding-america.
National Farmers Union has been working since 1902 to protect and enhance the economic well-being and quality of life for family farmers, ranchers and rural communities through advocating grassroots-driven policy positions adopted by its membership.
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