Warner Bros. Discovery is expansing its “Turn Up! Fight Hunger” campaign, a partnership with No Kid Hungry. The news comes timed to company’s participation in the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health on Wednesday.
After an initial pledge in 2018 to donate 1 billion meals to children in need in five years’ time and meeting that goal early in 2021, WBD has upped their promise to 2 billion meals. Including the number already donated, the 2 billion total is set to be reached by September 2023.
The program began after Gloria Steinem advised CEO David Zaslav to promote some kind of social good upon hearing that Discovery brands (before the merger with Warner Bros.) reached 25% of American women each night. The company has since utilized that reach with easy-to-access action items, like encouraging viewers across platforms like the Food Network and HGTV to donate by texting the word “hungry” to 707070. The money raised allows for schools, food banks and other community groups to buy not only food, but essential resources such as delivery trucks and protective gear for workers.
But donations are not the only tool of the campaign. “Turn Up! Fight Hunger” emphasizes that hunger crisis doesn’t mean there isn’t enough food; rather, it’s a lack of access for the people who need it most. As such, in the new expansion, Warner Bros. Television Group will begin educating its creative leaders on food insecurity, encouraging storylines that incorporate hunger, nutrition, and health topics into content. “Rock The Block,” “Extreme Makeover Home Edition,” “A Very Brady Renovation: Holiday Edition,” “Guy’s Grocery Games,” “Brother v Brother” and “The Kitchen: Thanksgiving Live” are among some of the programs that will integrate campaign messaging.
“Our partnership with No Kid Hungry has helped millions of kids and our expanded commitment and collaboration with like-minded, valuable partners will supply two billion total meals by September 2023,” said Kathleen Finch, chairman and chief content officer of WBD’s U.S. networks group. “Food Network, HTGV and our other iconic brands are important platforms that help raise awareness of hunger and allow us to use our resources to provide food for children in need.”
“Warner Bros. Discovery is a committed and critical partner in our fight to end childhood hunger,” added Billy Shore, founder and executive chair at Share Our Strength, the organization behind the No Kid Hungry campaign. “Their ability to drive deep engagement amongst viewers in households across the country continues to be instrumental in helping connect children and families with the meals they need to thrive. With all signs pointing to food insecurity rising once again in 2022, we are grateful to continue working together and supporting sustainable solutions to ending childhood hunger.”
