National & World Ag News Headlines Land O'Lakes Foundation to Help Alleviate Rural Hunger in America USAgNet - 11/05/2009 The Land O'Lakes Foundation announced the establishment of a new program, Feeding Our Communities, focused specifically on helping alleviate hunger in rural America. The program, which includes direct and matching grants, has the potential to generate up to an additional $1 million for hunger-related initiatives in rural communities. Foundation officials said Feeding Our Communities is a very focused and strategic approach to the growing issue of rural hunger. "There is a tendency to underestimate the impact of hunger in rural communities," Land O'Lakes Foundation Executive Director Lydia Botham said. "But the fact is, the percentage of rural households that are food insecure matches, or even exceeds, the percentage of urban households." As part of the Feeding Our Communities initiative, the Land O'Lakes Foundation Board of Directors has approved funding for a program with the potential to generate up to an additional $1 million for hunger-related programs in rural communities--delivered through a combination of direct grants and the Foundation's Member Co-op Match Program. Hager noted that Land O’Lakes member-cooperatives have not only been informed of the matching grants program, but that tools to help promote the program and identify hunger-focused local agencies and initiatives and complete grant applications also have been made available. Copyright © 2009 - USAgNet.com. All Rights Reserved.