Lane Cardwell

No Child Should Grow Up Hungry

12 million children in the U.S. have to worry about getting enough food to eat. That is one in six. And the trends on childhood hunger are getting worse, not better. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to know that during periods of high unemployment food can be scarce on the tables of some families. Many families are forced to make the budget stretch by buying food last. The house can be foreclosed on, renters can be evicted, cars can be repossessed, electricity can be turned off, but no one notices if you don’t buy enough food. No one except the children.

You and your restaurant can help. Last year 4,000 restaurants, 15 sponsors, and millions of customers participated in Share Our Strength’s first annual Great American Dine Out. The results boosted sales for participating restaurants, gave customers, employees and management teams that warm glow from doing something good, and made a big dent in childhood hunger. This year the results should be even bigger since fighting hunger is more top of mind for your customers because of the economy.

Share Our Strength is the leading national organization working to make sure that no kid in America grows up hungry. They weave together a net of community groups and food programs to catch children at risk of hunger, and ensure that they have nutritious food where they live, learn and play.
                   

Share Our Strength’s second annual Great American Dine Out is being held from September 20-26, 2009. Several thousand restaurants and several million customers will come together in an initiative to benefit kids. The entire industry, from snack bars to fine dining, will be participating in this very flexible program that helps the industry while helping children. The program is limited only by your organization’s creativity:

·         Customize and market your own Great American Dine Out coupon to customers

·         Promote a specific item and donate all or a portion of the proceeds from the purchase

·         Donate a percentage of total sales during Great American Dine Out week

·         Challenge customers to make their own donations, matched by the restaurant

·         Leverage relationships with local TV, radio, or newspapers to promote your participation

·         Secure a matching grant from a supplier or other business partner

·         Rally employees with a contest to raise the most in donations

·         Co-host a special Great American Dine Out dinner with a vendor or local celebrity

·         Create your own way of helping

During this time of great need, participating in the Great American Dine Out is another way to show your employees and customers the caring side of your organization. In addition, there is nothing wrong with getting a little sales help while you are giving a little help. The more that you leverage your participation in the program the better the results for you and the kids. Share Our Strength will be running a national marketing and PR campaign asking customers to look online for participating restaurants in their area. You will want to be one of those restaurants.

How do you participate? It’s so easy that there is no excuse to not do it. Go online at GreatAmericanDineout.org and check out the details and the online marketing program support. Or, e-mail the program director, Sheila Bennett, at SBennett@Strength.org. You can help a lot of children by helping your own organization build sales.

The cure for cancer is still just out of reach. The cure for hunger is not. Be a part of the cure.

Posted by Lane Cardwell on April 5, 2009 | Comments (15)