The 6th annual “Fight Hunger. Spark Change.” campaign kicks off on April 22 and runs through May 20. Over 100,000 individuals in central and southern Illinois don’t know where their next meal will come from. This campaign helps the Foodbank provide nutritious food for our neighbors. Viewers can support the campaign by purchasing participating products, donating in-store or donating online. All donations made from sales in stores and clubs will be made on behalf of Feeding America member food banks and will stay in the communities serviced by those food banks. Videos and photos will be available here on April 22 – https://corporate.walmart.com/newsroom.

Please share four talking points or subjects you would like included in the interview. (NOTE: These should be “big picture” points that give context to the interview).

1: Hunger in America is much closer than you may think. With the USDA reporting that one in eight Americans currently struggles with hunger at some point during the year, it’s an issue that affects people in every county across the country and even in our own communities.

2: Now in its sixth year, the “Fight Hunger. Spark Change.” campaign has raised nearly $75 million to fight hunger. Locally, this campaign has raised over $300,000 for Central Illinois Foodbank.

3: We’ll have two events at local stores during the campaign. There will be live cooking demonstrations on our mobile kitchen cart and a visual representation of hunger.

· Saturday, April 27 from 10am-12pm at Walmart (2760 N Dirksen Pkwy, Springfield)

· Friday, May 10 from 12pm-2pm at Sam’s Club (2300 W White Oaks Dr, Springfield)

4: Central Illinois Foodbank, established in 1982, distributes 9 million pounds of food annually to over 160 food pantries, soup kitchens, residential programs and after-school programs in a 21 county region. Central Illinois Foodbank is a member of Feeding America, the nation’s largest hunger relief organization. The mission of the Foodbank is to provide food, and develop awareness of and creative solutions for food insecurity.