The Land O’Lakes Foundation has announced the establishment of a new program, Feeding Our Communities, focused specifically on helping alleviate hunger in rural America. The program includes direct and matching grants.

“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 a farmer-owned cooperative, Land O’Lakes is committed to addressing the quality of life in rural communities.”

As part of the Feeding Our Communities initiative, the Land O’Lakes Foundation Board of Directors 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.

“The Feeding Our Communities grant program represents a direct response to the increased need we are seeing in today’s challenging economy,” Land O’Lakes Foundation Board Chairman Jim Hager said. “It channels financial resources into the communities where our members live, work, farm and do business. It represents a very focused approach to a very significant, and growing, need. Just as important, it involves member-cooperatives in identifying and addressing needs within their local communities.”

Hager noted that membercooperatives 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.

“We want to make it as easy as possible to participate … and make a positive difference across rural America,” Hager said.