Weight loss program benefits

Second Harvest Food Bank

Second Harvest Food Bank of East Central Indiana recently announced a new program that encourges weight loss while helping to feed local people who have food shortages.

Under the new program, The Pound for Pound Challenge, General Mills will donate 10 cents to Second Harvest Food Bank for every pound participating local dieters pledge to lose in 2009. The program is a partnership with Second Harvest, Feeding America, General Mills and The Biggest Looser.

To register for this program, on the Internet go to www.PFPChallenge.com. At the website, participants enter their weight loss goals to join the challenge. Participants can pledge to lose weight through April 27.

"The Pound for Pound Challenge serves two purposes," said Feeding America Development Associate Susan Land. "It provides a fun, interactive structure for losing weight and helps to raise critically-needed funds for Second Harvest Food Bank, and for more than 200 other food banks throughout the nation that are part of the Feeding America Network."

Land said demand for emergency assistance at food pantries, soup kitchens and other feeding programs is at an all time high as the nation struggles through tough economic times.

It is estimated that 130 million people are overweight in the United States. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, more than 36 million Americans live in "food insecure households" - meaning they do not always know where they will find their next meal. There are approximately 49,000 people living in poverty in East Central Indiana.

"We serve more than 63,900 Hoosiers every year," said Lois Rockhill, executive director of Second Harvest Food Bank of East Central Indiana. "And the number of people in need just keeps growing. We work with many generous donors who give us substantial food and funds to do our work. We are especially pleased that Feeding America, General Mills and The Biggest Loser have come up with such an innovative way to help us raise more funds and, just as importantly, raise awareness of the pervasiveness of hunger in our nation. I am personally joining the challenge to lose weight and to be a part of a national effort to make a difference for neighbors in need."

Grocery shoppers can look for Pound for Pound seals on specially-marked Genral Mills products. For each seal that is mailed in, General Mills will also donate 10 cents to Feeding America. The seals will appear on select products for a limited time only

Between the donations for weight loss pledges and product seals, General Mills will contribute up to $775,000 to Feeding America during the Pound for Pound Challenge.

Feeding America will distribute the funds to local food banks based on the ZIP codes of consumers who participate in the program.

to join the challenge, visit www.PFPChallenge.com, or to contribute directly to Second Harvest Food Bank, visit www.curehunger.org.

--Bill Richmond