Tackling Hunger Campaign Culminates with 1 Million Can Donation of Campbell’s Soup

Tampa, Fla. (Jan. 23, 2001) Super Bowl heroes Kurt Warner, Terrell Davis and Joe Theismann will lead teams from the NFC and AFC to help Campbell’s Chunky Soup donate more than 1 million cans of soup to food banks nationwide today. The “souper” showdown will mark the end of the successful Tackling Hunger 2000 program, which generated a donation of more than 5 million cans of soup to food banks across the country during this NFL season.

Joe Theismann will officiate as teams from the NFC and AFC face off in a pre-Super Bowl match-up, racing to push tackling sleds loaded with Chunky Soup towards the 1 million can donation, and the distinction of Champions of Charity. The cans will be donated to food banks nationwide on behalf of the winning team. “Tackling Hunger 2000 is such a success because everyone from fans to players have gotten involved,” said Joe Theismann, former Washington Redskins quarterback and current ESPN football analyst. “The cans donated through Tackling Hunger today, along with the 5 million total cans generated throughout the season, will go a long way to help tackle hunger in America.”

According to the USDA, more than 31 million Americans do not always know where their next meal will come from. Worldwide, more than 800 million people are undernourished, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization.

As the Super Bowl culminates a season of hard work in the NFL, it also caps the season long Tackling Hunger 2000 efforts. During the pre-season, Campbell weighed some of the “chunkiest” linemen from across the NFL and donated 10 times their weight in soup to local food banks. Campbell also helped kick off many local NFL food drives throughout the holidays with a 2,000-can donation of Chunky Soup. The company also donated 2,000 cans of soup for each of the 1,146 touchdowns scored across the NFL throughout the season.

Fans also helped this year by visiting the Chunky Web site, www.chunky.com. Through the “Click For Cans” program, fans were able to click on their favorite team’s helmet to donate one can of soup to help tackle hunger. More than 3 million cans were donated this way by NFL fans.

Campbell has worked with the NFL to donate more than 20 million cans of soup during the past four years on behalf of Tackling Hunger. “This has truly been a great season for Campbell and the NFL – working together for such an important cause,” said Srini Sripada, business director, Chunky Soup. “We hope to carry the success of the Tackling Hunger 2000 program into next season and beyond.”

Campbell Soup Company is the world’s largest producer and marketer of soups with more than 500 varieties sold in 122 countries. The company’s soups are sold under the global “Campbell’s” brand, “Swanson” broths and “Stockpot” soup, chili and stew in the U.S., “Erasco” in Germany and “Liebig” in France. Campbell is committed to providing consumers with high quality soups for every occasion; including lunch, nourishing snacks, with dinner, or as a recipe ingredient. More information about Campbell’s products is available at www.campbellsoup.com.

Share