With the football season now under way, fans have another way to rally around their favorite teams while raising desperately needed funds for hunger relief.  The Kick Hunger Challenge® is an online fundraising campaign spearheaded by Taste of the NFL (www.TasteoftheNFL.com) that pits fans from all 32 NFL teams against each other in a "friendly competition" to raise money for food banks in NFL communities nationwide.

To kick-start the competition in the Kick Hunger Challenge, the General Mills Foundation has committed the first $100,000 donation with a challenge to all football fans to match their amount during the football season.  The donation will already provide in excess of 20,000 meals for each of the 33 food banks – one in each NFL city, and the Akron-Canton Regional Food Bank in the Hall of Fame city of Canton, OH.

"The ball is literally in the hands of America's public," said Wayne Kostroski, founder of Taste of the NFL. "We hope people take this challenge and become a champion in the fight against hunger.  Our goal is to raise more than $200,000 for hunger relief, which would provide 40,000 meals to each of our food bank partners."  

How the Kick Hunger Challenge works:

• Fans log on to www.KickHungerChallenge.comto make a donation of any amount ($10 and up) in the name of their favorite team. 100% of that donation will be given to the local food bank paired with that team.
• Kick Hunger Challenge participants will receive e-mail messages throughout the NFL season letting them know how their team is doing compared with others across the league, especially against rival teams.
• "The Kick Hunger Challenge Champion" will be announced during Super Bowl week.

"The General Mills Foundation is always looking for innovative ways to nourish lives around the world, and we are thrilled to partner with Taste of the NFL in the Kick Hunger Challenge," said Ellen Luger, Executive Director of the General Mills Foundation.  "It's a compelling, creative approach to tackling an issue affecting far too many families in the United States. We hope everybody will take the Challenge and share their support on our Facebook page, General Mills Gives."

In addition to the Kick Hunger Challenge, Taste of the NFL invites fans to attend its annual fundraiser, "The Party with a Purpose," which will take place in Indianapolis on Saturday, Feb. 4, 2012—the eve of Super Bowl XLVI.  The strolling food and wine event pairs 32 of the country's best chefs (one from each NFL market) with a current or alumni player from each NFL team to raise funds for hunger relief. Tony Dungy, former Super Bowl winning head coach of the Indianapolis Colts and current color analyst for NBC Sunday Night Football, is the Honorary Chair of this year's event, which will take place at Gleaners Food Bank of Indiana.

ABOUT TASTE OF THE NFL
The Taste of the NFL (TNFL) is a 501c3 that exists to raise awareness and dollars for hunger relief organizations involved in tackling hunger in America. Proudly celebrating its 20thanniversary in 2011, the organization conducts national and local fundraising events throughout the year to raise money to combat hunger issues facing millions of Americans. Within its 20+ years, Minneapolis-based Taste of the NFL has raised more than $11 million for this critically important cause. The 2012 event will be held on February 4 at Gleaners Food Bank of Indiana.  Taste of the NFL is proud to have Tony Dungy, current NBC Sports commentator and former Super Bowl Champion NFL coach, as its honorary chair for 2011-12. For more information, visit www.TasteoftheNFL.com.

ABOUT THE GENERAL MILLS FOUNDATION
The mission of the General Mills Foundation, celebrating 57 years of giving, is to nourish communities. In fiscal 2011, General Mills awarded nearly $120 million to communities across the country. Of the total, the Foundation contributed over $25 million in domestic U.S. and international grants focusing on issues related to hunger and nutrition wellness. In addition, 82 percent of U.S. employees volunteer in the communities where they live and work. More information is available at www.GeneralMills.com/Foundation.