The Food Processing Suppliers Association Foundation today presented the Greater Chicago Food Depository with a $75,000 donation during PROCESS EXPO 2013 at McCormick Place. The donation was the catalyst for a partnership between the two organizations called DEFEAT HUNGER.

“Last November the FPSA Foundation made a decision to expand our efforts to help others,” said Barry Shoulders, foundation chairman. “The Foundation Board, along with the FPSA Board, decided to launch a “Giving Back” campaign. And what better place to start than to help those in need in our trade show’s host city.”

In addition to the $75,000 donation, PROCESS EXPO exhibitors participated by either donating to a virtual food drive or shipping canned goods along with their booths. In total, more than 240,000 meals worth of food were donated to the Food Depository.

“We are proud of our exhibitors for rallying around this cause,” said David Seckman, president and CEO, FPSA. “The food industry exists to feed the world and our partnership with the Food Depository was the perfect opportunity to give back.”

Annually, the food bank distributes 66 million pounds of food, including more than 21 million pounds of produce to 650 pantries, soup kitchens and shelters in Cook County. Nearly 142,000 men, women and children turn to the Food Depository’s network each week, and nearly 678,000 people turn to the network every year.

”The DEFEAT HUNGER initiative comes at a time when 1 in 6 individuals in our community struggles to put food on the table and record numbers of people are turning to our network of food pantries for assistance,” said Kate Maehr, executive director and CEO of the Food Depository. “At this time of great need, the generosity of FPSA and all DEFEAT HUNGER participants directly results in more nutritious meals for men, women and children in Chicago.”

“Programs such as DEFEAT HUNGER represent so much of what Chicago is about – a community committed to giving back,” said Jack Johnson, chief administrative officer for Choose Chicago. “We are thrilled with FPSA’s continued commitment to Chicago and even more so, this initiative they have implemented to further support our good friends at the Greater Chicago Food Depository and the hundreds of thousands of citizens they serve each year.”

To commemorate the DEFEAT HUNGER initiative, Gensler, a global architecture and interior design firm, built a can structure, which will be on display throughout PROCESS EXPO. The canned goods used in the structure will also be donated to the food bank at the conclusion of the show.

A timeline video of the canned goods structure can be viewed at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ut1agf-oB2E&feature=c4-overview&list=UUmA6iV3r_H4AAHK4W9w2iZA

Source: FPSA