Emergency Food Network Fighting Hunger With Groupon Grassroots

The fight against hunger is going viral.

Emergency Food Network is partnering with Groupon Grassroots, the philanthropic arm of Groupon, to provide nutritious, quality food to Pierce County residents.

For every $14 donated, Lakewood-based EFN will provide 81 meals to those in need, for the equivalent of almost one full week of breakfast, lunch and dinner for a family of four.

The Nourish the Needy Campaign will be live on the Seattle/Tacoma Groupon Grassroots page today through Sunday. Support for the campaign can be pledged in increments of $14.

“We are excited to employ the collective action model of Groupon Grassroots to raise support for people experiencing food insecurity,” said EFN Development Director Jeff Klein, in a news release. “We look forward to creating more awareness of hunger needs in Washington as one of the local nonprofits to be featured on Groupon Grassroots.”

EFN distributes food to 67 food banks, meal sites and shelters across the county. In 2011, total visits to food banks in Pierce County reached a record high of 1,285,903, and the organization distributed 13.1 million pounds of food.