Greensboro, NC – Today nearly 250 UnitedHealthcare employees, racing legend Richard Petty, Smithfield, United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW), AARP and AARP Foundation are packaging 50,000 nutritious meals at UnitedHealthcare’s Greensboro office to help fight hunger among older adults.
The meals, fortified with protein and other nutrients, and designed to meet older adults’ unique dietary needs, will be distributed throughout North Carolina.
Petty, “The King” of racing, will be on hand as part of Smithfield’s “Feeding the Hungry” initiative, through which Smithfield and the UFCW are donating 30,000 pounds of pork products to the event.
Nearly 9 million older adults nationwide face the risk of hunger and are likely to go hungry without help. North Carolina ranks seventh in the United States for food insecurity among adults age 50 and older. Nearly one in four North Carolinians age 50-plus reported not having enough money to buy food in the last year, according to AARP Foundation.
“The problem of older adult hunger is particularly severe in North Carolina, where almost one out of every 10 people age 50 and older faces the threat of hunger,” said Jo Ann Jenkins, president, AARP Foundation. “By working together with UnitedHealthcare, we’re building long-term solutions and providing immediate help for people who struggle to put food on the table.”
“As a company dedicated to serving older Americans, we want to do all we can to help eliminate hunger among older adults and ensure they have access to nutritious food,” said Patty Sauro, senior vice president, UnitedHealthcare. “We are happy to join Richard Petty, Smithfield, UFCW, AARP and AARP Foundation in the fight to help end hunger among older adults.”
This event, part of UnitedHealthcare’s “Do Good. Live Well.” employee-volunteer program, is the first stage of AARP and AARP Foundation’s Drive to End Hunger Charlotte 1 Million, a week-long series of volunteer events that will package and donate 1 million meals to hungry older North Carolinians.
UnitedHealthcare employees have participated in senior hunger prevention events in Minneapolis; San Antonio; Salem, Va.; Tampa, Fla.; Los Angeles and Orange County, Calif. Other volunteer events are scheduled later this year in cities across the country.
For more information about the benefits of volunteering and to find local opportunities to get involved, visit www.DoGoodLiveWell.org. Follow @DoGoodLiveWell on Twitter or “like” Do Good. Live Well. on Facebook.
