But, as Amy Cohn, a registered dietitian and senior nutrition manager at General Mills, told FoodNavigator-USA at the Food Nutrition Conference & Expo in Orlando this week where the CPG giant captured in slow-motion GIFs the squeals of delighted dietitians descending the slide: “We really wanted to speak to child in all of us and … evoke that inspiration that you had when you were a child to help other kids.”
She explained that participants were encouraged to share their GIF – along with General Mills’ branded-building hashtag #BigG – across social media to their networks to raise awareness that one in eight children in the US, or approximately 9 million children, are living with hunger.
Each GIF links to No Kid Hungry’s website, where visitors are encouraged to donate to the non-profit, which is working to end childhood hunger by supporting school meal programs, providing grants for equipment to feed children and advocating for supportive laws and policies.
With a track recording of feeding 10 children for every $1 donated, Cohn notes it doesn’t take much to make a change.
“It can be $5. It doesn’t need to be $50 or 500,” she said.
General Mills also put its money where its mouth is by donating $250,000 to the non-profit from FNCE.
Cohn added: “We’ve been partnering with them since 2014, and over the last 10 years we have donated more than $9 million” to make sure every child has access to a nutritious breakfast.
As a sizeable vendor to the school meals program, General Mills’ playful approach at FNCE to support No Kid Hungry does double duty in terms of brand building – thanks to the giant cereal box modelled after a Cheerios’ package – and generating funds to cover potential sales.