The Grain Foods Foundation is working with Share Our Strength to raise awareness about hunger, says GFF president and guest columnist, Judi Adams. Find out what the project entails and how you can help.

The Bread Art Project

The Bread Art Project was created by Grain Foods Foundation (GFF) to help increase awareness of the growing hunger problem in our country. In 2009, visitors to www.breadartproject.com created more than 25,000 pieces of bread art and helped raise more than $25,000 for Feeding America, a leading domestic hunger-relief charity, for a total contribution of $75,000 from GFF.

When people visit www.breadartproject.com, they not only help feed hungry children through an online consumer-generated donation from GFF, but they also learn about the role grain foods play in nourishing the body.

Since the project was so successful in 2009, we decided to announce the second annual campaign in 2010, but this time named Share Our Strength, the leading national organization working to end childhood hunger in America by 2015, as the benefitting organization. Share Our Strength weaves together a network of community groups, activists and food programs to identify kids who face hunger and ensure they have nutritious food where they live, learn and play.

For every piece of bread art submitted and approved on www.breadartproject.com between April 5 and June 30, GFF will donate $1 to Share Our Strength.

We also partnered with Weekly Reader, an educational classroom magazine for grades Pre-K through 12, to develop a multifaceted campaign that reaches educators and children to help support the Bread Art Project. In addition to reaching teachers via opt-in newsletters and e-mails, we identified select markets to target with a postcard mailing encouraging participation in schools, either in the classroom or as a take-home project.

Additionally, GFF held media events in New York City, Chicago and Atlanta with Food Network host Melissa d’Arabian to connect with influential food and mom bloggers, one of the fastest growing social media segments. By inviting them and their children to attend the events, interact with Melissa and taste the recipes she developed for the campaign, we earned a significant amount of media impressions on influential blogs including Mom Blog Magazine, Frugal Mama, Savor the Thyme, Big Apple Parent and many more.

GFF members also had the opportunity to be a part of these events. For example, Tim Lotesto from Chicago-based Alpha Baking Co. served as the GFF spokesperson and Sherry Harper from Flowers Foods, headquartered in Thomasville, Ga., represented GFF in Atlanta. 

Why choose Share Our Strength as the beneficiary of our project and what can be accomplished with donations both large and small?

$1 can help provide three nutritious meals to a hungry child.
$25 can help feed one child three healthy meals every day for a month.
$50 can help connect one child with healthy meals throughout the summer.
$100 can help provide 25 children facing hunger with backpacks full of healthy food to feed them and their families over the weekend.
$200 can help buy grocery bags of healthy food for 50 families in need.
$500 can help reach 12 low-income families with a life-changing, six-week nutritious cooking and food budgeting course.
$1,000 can help expand a summer feeding program to reach hundreds more children facing hunger during the summer months.

As of press time, 49,725 pieces of bread art had been created and uploaded to the Bread Art Project, guaranteeing a minimum donation of $49,725 to Share Our Strength. We anticipate we will have reached our goal of 50,000 submissions by the end of June.

All GFF members can take pride in helping feed America’s hungry children.

Go to www.breadartproject.com to learn more about the Bread Art Project and how you can help.

Also check out the “The Final Word” in the May 2009 issue of Snack Food & Wholesale Bakery to read about managing editor Marina Mayer’s bread art experience.