RIDGWAY, COLO. — Following up on the project’s success in 2009, the Grain Foods Foundation has relaunched the Bread Art Project, an initiative of the foundation to raise awareness of childhood hunger while also promoting grain-based foods.
In the first week since the relaunch, 2,000 submissions were posted, said Monica Higgins, an account supervisor at Boston-based Mullen, the foundation’s public relations and advertising agency.
The program last year generated more than 25,000 pieces of bread art. For each submission, the Grain Foods Foundation donated more than $25,000 toward hunger relief. The foundation hopes to double that amount this year.
Through June 30, consumers will be able to create a personalized piece of bread art at www.breadartproject.com by uploading a drawing or photo, or designing a new one using a digital slice of bread as a canvas. For each piece of bread art created, the Grain Foods Foundation will donate $1 to Share Our Strength.
A national organization dedicated to fighting hunger, Share Our Strength focuses principally on child hunger and has a stated objective of eradicating the problem by 2015.
“We weave together a net of community groups, activists and food programs to catch children facing hunger and surround them with nutritious food where they live, learn and play,” according to Share our Strength.
The foundation noted that a single dollar provides three nutritious meals for a child and that $25 can feed a child three daily meals for a month.
Ms. Higgins said Share Our Strength has been promoting the Bread Art Project on its social networking platforms (www.facebook.com/shareourstrength and www.twitter.com/sharestrength).
The foundation is partnering with Melissa d’Arabian from the Food Network to promote the project. An expert in thrifty food preparation, Ms. d’Arabian was the winner of a Food Network’s “The Next Food Network Star” competition, season five.
She hosts the daytime television series, “Ten Dollar Dinners with Melissa d'Arabian,” sharing recipes based on the premise that a tasty meal with “infinite possibilities” may be created for $10.
Ms. d’Arabian will formally relaunch the Bread Art Project at a New York event April 20 with media representatives and Internet bloggers.
Other steps taken to promote the project included the initiation of a partnership with Weekly Reader. The project, which kicked off April 12, includes an e-mail to 54,000 opt-in subscribers, a link to G.F.F.’s web site from Weekly Reader’s home page, and a postcard campaign to teachers in select markets encouraging them to participate in the Bread Art Project with their students. The foundation is offering a “toolkit” for teachers at its GoWithTheGrain.org web site.
“Our children deserve healthy meals, and I applaud the Grain Foods Foundation for its efforts to provide access to those in need,” Ms. d’Arabian said. “As a mother of four, I understand a parent’s desire to properly nourish their children. It’s heartbreaking to know there are families in our own country struggling for the basics.”
Judi Adams, president of the Grain Foods Foundation, added, “Staples like bread and grains provide many essential nutrients our bodies need to stay healthy. Plus, they are affordable and versatile items families can use to stretch their grocery dollars at home.”
The Bread Art Project brought accolades for Mullen in 2009. The agency was awarded a silver prize for the project by the Ad Club of Boston. The award was presented Oct. 6 at the 49th annual Francis W. Hatch Awards for Creative Excellence in Boston.