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Feed The Children's Next Stop on the 'Americans Feeding Americans Emergency Caravan' is Nashville

Ten tractor-trailers filled with food and personal care items will be distributed on Thursday, July 16. The distribution will begin following a press conference at 2 p.m. at LP Field, home of the Tennessee Titans of the NFL, located at 1 Titans Way.

The trucks were made possible by Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA). FCCLA students nationwide organized fundraising drives for Feed The Children as part of an initiative for the FCCLA 2008-2009 National Outreach Project to raise awareness about child hunger in America. The truck distribution is being held in conjunction with the FCCLA National Conference in Nashville.

Feed The Children, working with local partner agencies The Nashville Dream Center, The Bridge Ministries, Iglesia Wesleyana Nueva Vida, Feed America First and Unity of Believers, will provide a box of food and a box of personal care items to recipients. The boxes are designed to help supplement a family for up to one week.

"Nashville has experienced an increased unemployment rate the past few months," said Larry Jones, founder and president of Feed The Children. "Feed The Children is committed to helping as many families as we possibly can throughout the 'Americans Feeding Americans Emergency Caravan'. We are so thankful to FCCLA for their continued hard work in helping bring hope to so many struggling families."

Avon Products, Inc. has donated gift bags filled with Avon products and gift items to recipient families. Avon Products, Inc. has been a long time partner of Feed The Children.

Crocs, Inc. and Soles United have donated new shoes to be distributed to recipient families. Crocs, Inc. and Soles United are long time partners of Feed The Children.

Nashville is the seventh of many cities on the "Americans Feeding Americans Emergency Caravan" food distribution tour from Feed The Children.

To date, over 23,000 families have been helped by the emergency caravan. In May, Feed The Children helped 2,000 families in Chicago, Illinois and 2,000 in Laurinburg, North Carolina due to the unemployment rate increasing in both cities. In April, Feed The Children delivered 4,000 food and personal care boxes to recently laid off hotel and restaurant employees affected by the drop in tourism in New York. Also in April, 2,000 food and personal care boxes were delivered to residents in Greenville, Mississippi. In February, Feed The Children delivered 13 semi tractor-trailers filled with food and personal care items to help sustain 5,200 families in Elkhart, Indiana. The city has been hit hard by the deteriorating RV industry. On Feb. 19, Feed The Children delivered food and personal care items to help sustain 6,000 families in Wilmington, Ohio. The closing of a DHL plant affected one in three families in Wilmington.

About Feed The Children

Founded in 1979 by Larry and Frances Jones, Feed The Children is consistently ranked as one of the 10 largest international charities in the U.S., based on private, non-government support. Feed The Children is a Christian, international, nonprofit relief organization with headquarters in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, that delivers food, medicine, clothing and other necessities to individuals, children and families who lack these essentials due to famine, war, poverty or natural disasters. In FY 2007, Feed The Children distributed more than 135 million pounds of food and other essentials to children and their families in all 50 states and internationally, supplementing almost 800,000 meals each day. For more information, please visit

www.feedthechildren.org

www.givingisgood.org

www.larryjones.tv

www.feedthechildren.org/abandonedbabies

About FCCLA

FCCLA: The Ultimate Leadership Experience is a dynamic and effective national student organization that helps young men and women become leaders and address important personal, family, work, and societal issues through Family and Consumer Sciences Education. FCCLA has more than 220,000 members and nearly 7,000 chapters from 50 state associations and the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. The organization has involved more than ten million youth since its founding in 1945. Family, Career and Community Leaders of America is unique among youth organizations because its programs are planned and run by members. It is the only career and technical in-school student organization with the family as its central focus. Participation in national programs and chapter activities helps members become strong leaders in their families, careers, and communities.

Feed The Children
Rebecca Gass, 405-949-5140
Cell: 405-203-6038