Bayer and Kroger joined forces with country music star Luke Bryan and Feeding America to bring healthy food to more families who need it. According to Feeding America’s latest data, more than 44 million people in the United States are food insecure, including a nearly 30 percent increase – more than 10 million – compared to the previous year.

Building on the successful launch of the “Take Care, Now” campaign in 2023, the collaborators are announcing their efforts to again raise awareness, educate communities, and facilitate access to nutritious food and vitamins and minerals. Their initiatives will particularly be focused in underserved rural areas where “hidden hunger” is more prevalent.

Hidden hunger is a form of undernutrition where individuals may consume enough calories, but lack sufficient vitamins and minerals. Vitamin and mineral inadequacies such as magnesium, calcium, iron or vitamins A, D, and C, are common in the United States. As nutrition and health are interconnected, this hidden hunger may result in an increased risk of significant health consequences which has been acknowledged by the CDC.

“As a leader in both agriculture and self-care including nutritional supplements, Bayer is uniquely positioned to positively improve access to essential nutrients holistically. We’re committed to bringing nutritious food, multivitamins, and supplements within physical and financial reach of those who need it most,” said Dave Tomasi, president, Bayer Consumer Health, North America.

With support of Feeding America, Bayer and Kroger will distribute educational materials through affiliated food banks nationwide to enhance nutrition literacy. These toolkits will include valuable resources on vitamin and mineral education. They will also include recipes for simple, nutritious comfort foods prepared with readily available ingredients.

“At Kroger, we are committed to increasing access to fresh, affordable food for more people across the U.S.,” said Jim Kirby, chief commercial officer Kroger Health. “We know when families have more access to fresh foods, they have better long-term health outcomes. We appreciate everything Bayer and Luke Bryan are doing to raise awareness of this important issue.”

The initiative is also supported by Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, who is focused on helping eliminate hunger in his home state of Ohio.

“Ohio is the heart of it all, and that means that our state is also the heart of compassion. It is vitally important that we join together to do everything we can to end hunger in Ohio. Teaming up with Luke Bryan, Bayer, Kroger, and Feeding America will go a long way toward making more healthy, nutritious food available to Ohioans in need,” said DeWine.

For its part, Bayer has worked to support generations of American farmers to put healthy, nutritious food at the table and is working on fruit and vegetable varieties that provide better taste, stay fresh longer, are more water-efficient and grow better in a changing climate.

To address a widespread nutrition problem, Bayer is partnering to develop tomato varieties that are nutritionally enhanced with vitamin D3. In support of “Take Care, Now,” Bayer will also donate up to 1 million meals – adding to the more than 9 million meals that have been donated as part of #herestothefarmer campaign that Luke Bryan is also part of. Building on a long history of donating vitamins and other nutritional supplements to the Feeding America network of Food Bank partners, this year, Bayer will also donate over 100,000 bottles of One A Day and Flintstones Multivitamins as well as other nutritional supplements to food banks in the U.S.

Meanwhile, Kroger plays a pivotal role in providing fresh, affordable food to millions of customers daily across 35 states in its stores. The retailer also offers telenutrition services, allowing customers to connect with a nutrition expert over video chat, offering convenient personalized nutrition coaching and education. More recently, Kroger collaborated with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service (USDA) to enable Electronic Benefit Transfer digital acceptance, allowing customers to use EBT payments for purchases through the Kroger app or at Kroger.com for both grocery pickup and delivery, putting healthy food within reach for more people.

“The fact is, in addition to millions of Americans not knowing where their next meal will come from, many also experience ‘Hidden Hunger’ and are deficient in key nutrients,” said Charles Blazevich, senior manager, corporate partnerships for Feeding America. “We’re excited to again be working alongside Bayer, Kroger and Luke Bryan to create awareness and make an impact in this area.”

Through the joint efforts, the “Take Care, Now” campaign has the potential to reach 200 food banks and over 60,000 partner agencies, food pantries and meal programs which positively impacts thousands of people across rural America every day. To raise awareness of “hidden hunger” and promote solutions, the campaign will stop at various events throughout the fall, including the Farm Progress Show in Boone, Iowa, and all six Luke Bryan Farm Tour concerts.

“As someone who grew up in a rural community, I know firsthand the importance of having access to healthy, nutritious food,” said five-time entertainer of the year, Luke Bryan. “I couldn’t be more proud to be involved in this initiative with organizations like Bayer, Kroger and Feeding America.”

For more information on the campaign and ways to get involved, visit www.bayer.us.

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