Media Contact:
Jay Vise
Second Harvest Food Bank
jvise@secondharvest.org
504-729-2830
***MEDIA ALERT/PHOTO OPPORTUNITY***
Dunkin’ Donuts & Baskin-Robbins Community Foundation Awards
Second Harvest Food Bank with $20,000 Grant
Grant will fund the new School Mobile Pantry Program in New Orleans and Opelousas
WHO: Dunkin’ Donuts & Baskin-Robbins Community Foundation & Second Harvest Food Bank
WHAT: Second Harvest Food Bank is honored to be a recipient of a $20,000 grant from Dunkin’ Donuts &
Baskin-Robbins Community Foundation (DDBRCF) to partially fund a new school mobile pantry program
that will begin this fall.
The check presentation will be held at the franchisee meeting in Baton Rouge where
Mary-Kay Rath, Development Director at Second Harvest Food Bank’s Lafayette facility, will be accepting
the check from Dunkin’ Donut representatives.
Last school year, Second Harvest Food Bank began a school mobile pantry pilot program in Opelousas at
the South Street School. The school has a high free/reduced meal program enrollment and 19.3 % of the
parish are food insecure. The funding from this grant will allow Second Harvest to continue the program
in Opelousas and also expand the program to Orleans parish where 21% of the population is classified as
food insecure. These two areas have the highest food insecurity rates in the state.
With one in five Louisiana children at risk of hunger, the School Pantry program has the potential to
serve as a regional model for improving the health and nutrition of chronically hungry children and
families. Second Harvest will conduct 27 School Pantry distributions during the 2014-15 school year,
providing 297,000 pounds of food to 450-600 families, which is the equivalent of 247,500 meals. Each
distribution will encourage the participation of the local school community while serving as a special
time to provide children, parents and caregivers with nutrition education and wraparound social
services support.
WHEN: Thursday, June 19
11:30am - Noon
WHERE: Hilton Baton Rouge Capitol Center
201 Lafayette Street
Baton Rouge, LA 70801
WHY: The New Orleans and Lafayette regions are currently home to 5 Dunkin’ Donuts restaurants and 19
Baskin-Robbins shops with plans for 11 new restaurants across the city over the next few years, bringing
the regional total to 14 by 2018. In joining forces and forming a new corporate partnership with the
Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin-Robbins Community Foundation in the fight against hunger, Second Harvest
believes that “Together we can solve hunger.”
The Dunkin’ Donuts & Baskin-Robbins Community Foundation will support feeding children and their
families via the Backpack and School Pantry programs. The DDBRCF has graciously made a commitment
of $1M over three years to Feeding America. This is the largest gift ever contributed by the Foundation.
The DDBRCF is committed to fighting childhood hunger, which is why they have determined that grant
funds can be utilized for either the Backpack Program or School Pantry Program. The DDBRCF has
partnered with Feeding America at the national level since 2007 and has donated more than $1,000,000
over the last five years (calendar year) to support Feeding America and its local food banks.
Additionally, over the past five years, The DDBRCF has addressed the issue of hunger relief through both
national and local efforts. Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin-Robbins franchisees have led food drives in the
communities they serve and have organized volunteer days at their local food banks to help fill
backpacks filled with nutritious meals for children.
The mission of The Dunkin’ Donuts & Baskin-Robbins Community Foundation is to serve its
neighborhoods by taking care of their basic needs: hunger, children’s health and safety. The DDBRCF
brings together a wide network of stakeholders, including franchisees, crew members and employees to
serve their local communities. Launched in 2006, The DDBRCF has granted more than $4,500,000 to
local charities.
To learn more about the Foundation, please visit: http://news.dunkinbrands.com/Foundation/Aboutthe-Foundation-3e9.aspx
For more information about Second Harvest Food Bank, please visit www.no-hunger.org.
About Second Harvest Food Bank:
Second Harvest Food Bank is leading the fight against hunger and building food security in South Louisiana by providing food access,
advocacy, education and disaster response. Second Harvest provides food to 300 partner agencies and direct food access to community
members in need across 23 parishes, from the Mississippi border to the Texas state line. Together, we make up the largest anti-hunger
network in the state. With our community’s help, we can make food security a reality for every household in South Louisiana.
Second Harvest Food Bank is an affiliated ministry of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans, a member of Feeding America, and
a United Way Partner Agency. To join us in the fight to end hunger, please visit www.no-hunger.org. Follow us on Twitter at
www.Twitter.com/2ndHarvestGNOA; fan us on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/2ndHarvestGNOA or Instagram at @2ndHarvestGNOA.
About Dunkin' Donuts
Founded in 1950, Dunkin' Donuts is America's favorite all-day, everyday stop for coffee and baked goods. Dunkin' Donuts is a market
leader in the hot regular/decaf/flavored coffee, iced coffee, donut, bagel and muffin categories. Dunkin' Donuts has earned the No. 1
ranking for customer loyalty in the coffee category by Brand Keys for eight years running. The company has nearly 11,000 restaurants in
33 countries worldwide. Based in Canton, Mass., Dunkin' Donuts is part of the Dunkin' Brands Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: DNKN) family of
companies. For more information, visit www.DunkinDonuts.com.
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