TODAY: Countdown Party For the $1 Million For Utah Food Bank

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:         Jessica Pugh

PR Specialist

C: 801-870-7079

JessicaP@utahfoodbank.org

Countdown Party for the $1 Million Held Today in Sandy

Public Welcome to Join the Celebration & Vote

SALT LAKE CITY, December 31, 2010 - A Cinderella story in the making, Salt Lake City has a substantial lead over Fresno, Cal. in Walmart's "Fighting Hunger Together" Facebook campaign. The competition ends today and a Countdown Party will be held to track the standings at the Jordan Commons Megaplex Theatres at 9400 South State Street, Sandy. The public is welcome to join Walmart, Utah Food Bank, GiftCard Bäks and other supporters for a countdown to the $1 million prize.

Because the city with the most support will be awarded $1 million for its hunger fighting charities, and the next five cities with the highest support will be awarded $100,000, Utahns have been actively voting and recruiting family and friends to "Like" Salt Lake City and Ogden.

The past 24 hours have been exciting for Utahns as Salt Lake City overtook the #1 position around 5 p.m. yesterday and currently has 4,991,459 "Likes" compared to Fresno, Cal.'s current "Like" total of 3,975,569. Ogden is ranked #4 with 275,512 "Likes".

WHAT:          Countdown Party for Walmart's "Fighting Hunger Together" Facebook Competition - Public & Media Welcome

                        Laptops will be set up for voting and a big screen will show the current standings

WHERE:       Jordan Commons Megaplex Theatres, 9400 South State Street, Sandy, UT

                        Arcade area behind the ticket booth

            WHEN:          Today, Friday, December 31, 2010

                                    3-5 p.m.

            WHO:             Representatives from Walmart, GiftCard Bäks & Utah Food Bank.

                                    All-star Facebook campaign supporters

           

 Walmart, GiftCard Bäks and Utah Food Bank are encouraging all Utahns to vote for Salt Lake City and Ogden from a list of 100 communities where hunger rates are the highest. The city with the most support will receive $1 million in grants and the next five cities with the highest support will receive $100,000 each.

Each person can vote multiple times for multiple cities by (1) "Liking" Salt Lake City and Ogden each at fightinghunger.walmart.com, (2) Commenting after "Liking" each city, (3) Sharing the link on the user's Facebook page and (4) "Liking" other users' postings. Utah Food Bank is encouraging supporters to repeat those steps as many times as possible.

 

Right now, 1 in 7 Utah children is at risk of hunger and Salt Lake City and Ogden both have a food hardship rate twice the national average with approximately 20 percent of families not able to afford regular meals. Utah Food Bank, which serves 150 food pantries statewide, would receive a significant portion of the funding if Salt Lake City earned the most votes.

Photo and Interview Opportunities Available.

About Utah Food Bank

Utah Food Bank provides food to a statewide network of 150 emergency food pantries and agencies statewide. Last fiscal year, Utah Food Bank distributed 30.8 million pounds of food, the equivalent of over 23 million meals for families and individuals in need. Utah Food Bank also served 221,237 Kids Cafe meals, delivered 26,472 senior food boxes and answered 114,994 calls through its 2-1-1 Information & Referral service. For more information about Utah Food Bank call (801) 978-2452 or visit www.utahfoodbank.org. Find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/UtahFoodBank and on Twitter at www.twitter.com/UtahFoodBank.