Serving Boone, Blowing Rock, Banner Elk, and other towns of the North Carolina High Country | Founded 05-05-05

|| High Country Press Newswire

NOVEMBER 26, 2009 ISSUE

Local Residents Lose For Good, Donate 366 Pounds of Food to The Hunger and Health Coalition

Many local and seasonal residents joined the fight against two global epidemics—hunger and obesity—by participating in the Lose For Good campaign. As local Weight Watchers members lose weight, they’ve also been collecting food to donate to The Hunger and Health Coalition to help neighbors in need. Within seven weeks, the group lost 769.8 pounds and collected 366 pounds of food.

“The Lose For Good campaign provides a chance for folks to adopt a healthier lifestyle, reduce their weight and help someone in need,” said Glenda Irwin, Weight Watchers territory manager. “Some members have brought in food donations equivalent to their weight loss so they can make sure their loss is someone else’s gain.”

Food banks across the nation are reporting that the demand for assistance has increased as much as 40 percent this year, leaving many food banks unable to fill their shelves and help those in need.

The Hunger and Health Coalition Executive Director Compton Fortuna said, “This food donation could not have come at a better time. We have seen a 25 percent increase in the need for food, but we have seen a sharp decrease in the amount of food that is donated or available from the food bank. This contribution will help feed local families in need.”

On a national level, for every one million pounds Weight Watchers members lost between August 31 and October 17, Weight Watchers pledged to donate between $250,000 and $1 million to two hunger fighting organizations—Share Our Strength and Action Against Hunger. Early estimates show that Weight Watchers has reached its donation goal by losing approximately four million pounds across the country. In addition, Weight Watchers staff and members participated in more than 3,300 voluntary food drives in meeting rooms throughout the country where they collected and donated an estimated two million pounds of food to local food banks.