EAGLE, ID, February 23, 2010 – The Idaho Potato Commission announced today that it will donate $20,000 to the Feed My Starving Children organization to help assemble and distribute 230,000 Manna Pack™-Potato meals to Haitian citizens. MannaPack™-Potato is a “first food” designed specifically for malnourished children with diarrhea. It contains potato granules, soy flour, vitamins, minerals and sweet potato flavoring.
“The Idaho Potato Commission is extremely proud to support this volunteer-driven, humanitarian organization that provides meals to millions of hungry and malnourished people around the world,” said Frank Muir, President & CEO, Idaho Potato Commission. “Of course in recent days, all of our attention has turned to Haiti. The Commission has looked at many different ways to provide aide to the Haitian people. We feel that the Feed My Starving Children donation will allow us to do exactly what we need to do -- which is to put nutritional food directly into the hands of those who need it most, especially the children.”
The Manna Pack™-Potato meals will be assembled at a Mobile Pack™-Potato event in Boise, ID this August by volunteers who will pack, seal, box and place 230,000 meals on to pallets and prepare them for loading and shipping. Simultaneously a similar event will be taking place in the Pocatello, ID area.
To help raise funds and awareness, as well as recruit volunteers for the August Mobile Pack event, representatives from Feed My Starving Children and the Boise State University (BSU) Political Science Association will host a kick-off event on February 27, 2010 at BSU in the Simplot Ballroom. Keynote speakers, which include representatives from the Idaho Potato Commission, the United States Potato Board and Feed My Starving Children, will each share remarks. The event begins at 7:00pm.
About Feed My Starving Children
Feed My Starving Children is a Christian nonprofit hunger relief organization, founded in 1987 that strives to eliminate starvation in children throughout the world by helping to instill compassion in people to hear and respond to the cries of those in need. For more information visit http://www.fmsc.org/.
About the Idaho Potato Commission
The Idaho Potato Commission is a state agency that is primarily responsible for expanding the markets for Idaho®-grown potatoes through advertising, promotion and research. The Commission also protects the use of the "Idaho®" potato and "Grown in Idaho®" seals, which are federally registered Certification Marks that belong to the IPC. These Marks ensure that consumers are purchasing potatoes that have been grown in the state of Idaho. For more information visit www.idahopotato.com.
# # #
