GENYOUth has recently announced that proceeds from Taste of the NFL @Home and the Chunky® Million Meals Challenge, two groundbreaking purpose-driven initiatives held in January and February 2021, will support the delivery of over 125 million school meals to food insecure students across the country.
With the pandemic transforming every aspect of Super Bowl LV, Taste of the NFL @Home was completely reimagined as a first-ever virtual, interactive, livestream broadcasted from Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. The event, which was held on Super Bowl Sunday, February 7, was one of the most accessible and successful Taste of the NFL celebrations ever held in its 30-year history, with thousands of fans “home gating” from their kitchens to benefit GENYOUth’s COVID-19 Emergency School Meal Delivery Fund, which is providing schools with grants to purchase equipment and resources needed to feed students during the pandemic.
“We could never have imagined how successful Taste of the NFL would be this year, with a virtual and unique game day experience that engaged fans everywhere and opened the event up to an exponentially wider audience that was able to attend from home,” said Peter O’Reilly, NFL Executive Vice President Club Business & League Events. “By bringing together some of the nation’s greatest chefs and sports icons to raise funds on behalf of youth dealing with food insecurity, we are proud of what we accomplished with GENYOUth in Tampa and can’t wait to take this virtual experience to the next level at Super Bowl LVI in Los Angeles.”
“We are deeply grateful to all of our partners and supporters who stepped up to help deliver over 125 million meals through Taste of the NFL @Home and the Chunky®, Million Meals Challenge, starting with PepsiCo and including Campbell’s® Chunky®, America’s Dairy Farmers, the NFL, Doritos®, EA SPORTS and CSL Esports. In addition, we could not have done this without the recipe ingredients provided by BUSH’s® Beans, Ocean Spray® Craisin® Dried Cranberries, Kretschmar® Deli Meats from Smithfield Foods, GameDay Vodka and Fresh from Florida oranges,” said Alexis Glick, CEO of GENYOUth. “With one in four children at risk of food insecurity, now more than ever schools need our help, and these leaders of consequence are demonstrating why public-private partnerships are so important in moving the needle to battle childhood hunger. We can’t wait to top this year’s numbers and deliver even more meals as we head into next season and Super Bowl LVI.”
Funds raised through Taste of the NFL @Home and the Chunky® Million Meals Challenge will go toward the purchase of equipment and resources urgently needed by schools to deliver meals to the 30 million students who depend on school nutrition daily. As a result of Taste of the NFL @Home efforts, schools who will receive funding to serve meals to their high-need students include this year’s host city for Super Bowl LV, Tampa, Florida, as well as the 30 other cities which are home to NFL teams.
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