Foodbank of Santa Barbara County Kicks off 2024 Hunger Heroes Corporate Showdown

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The Foodbank of Santa Barbara County is excited to announce the launch of the 2024 Hunger Heroes Corporate Showdown, a six-week competition running from October 28 to December 9, 2024. This annual campaign brings together companies large and small to combat hunger during the crucial holiday season. Participating businesses earn points through financial donations, food drives, volunteer hours, and social media engagement.

Eight local companies will participate in this year’s showdown, with a collective goal of raising $50,000. The participating teams are Apeel, Yardi, CIO Solutions, Impact, Planet Fitness, Gavial, Kyocera, Isla Vista Food Co-op, and Heeluxe.

During the 2023 competition, participants raised $61,840, donated 2,407 pounds of food, and volunteered for 67 hours. Participating teams will compete again this year to win the ‘Golden Turkey’ award.

“Having local businesses participate in Hunger Heroes allows the Foodbank to use our purchasing power to stretch 1 dollar 5 times further than if a person were to purchase food from a grocery store today. The Hunger Heroes teams participating allows us to reach our goal of providing equitable access to nutritional food for the holidays.” Says Corporate Giving Manager Jen Sanregret.

The 2024 challenge officially begins on Monday, October 28. Individuals can support their favorite team by donating at donate.foodbanksbc.org/HHCS2024.

How Teams Earn Points

·        Monetary Donations: Double points for company-matched employee donations, and teams earn one point per dollar raised.

·        Food Donations: Food donation boxes are created by each team, where items like canned goods, dry goods, and fresh produce can be contributed to Foodbank warehouse locations, allowing teams to accumulate points for pounds. Additionally, a turkey drive is scheduled from November 1st to November 22nd.

• Volunteer Hours: Volunteer opportunities can be found on VolunteerHub, and the Foodbank can assist in organizing events for corporate teams.
• Social Media Engagement: Teams can earn points for each unique social media post, as long as the Foodbank is tagged and the post is related to the Hunger Heroes Corporate Showdown.

Tracking the Competition

Team stats will be updated weekly. Companies are encouraged to keep their employees engaged with regular emails and social media updates using #endhungergames and tagging @foodbanksb.

About the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County
The Foodbank of Santa Barbara County is committed to ending hunger and transforming the community’s health through improved nutrition. With the support of over 200 partner agencies, the Foodbank provides healthy food, education, and resources to families, children, and seniors facing food insecurity.

For more information, please visit www.FoodbankSBC.org.