Contributions from Leading Pretzel Brand Will Result in More Than 1 Million Meals to Children in Need Through No Kid Hungry
Thanks to passionate Wetzel’s Pretzels team members, franchisees and customers across the country, the brand has announced it will donate more than $100,000 to No Kid Hungry, helping to provide one-million meals to children in need across the country. To raise the funds and cross the one million meal mark, the company implemented a systemwide promotion from July 1 through July 22 at more than 300 Wetzel’s Pretzels’ locations across the country, with each $1 donation from guests providing 10 healthy meals to children in the U.S. To thank guests for their generosity, Wetzel’s Pretzels provided a Free Original Pretzel for each donation made.
“We are so thankful for the incredible support of Wetzel’s Pretzels and their guests, who blew us away with their first promotion for No Kid Hungry. The funds raised will help us end hunger for kids across this country,” said Diana Hovey, SVP of Dine Out for No Kid Hungry.
Funds raised support No Kid Hungry’s work to connect vulnerable children to effective nutrition programs like School Breakfast and Summer Meals, creating public-private partnerships that work together to identify and break down barriers to giving children access to meals, and teaching low-income families how to stretch their food budgets and cook healthy, affordable meals.
“Steve Leibsohn, one of our largest multi-unit operators and an active philanthropist in the Arizona market, spearheaded the idea of partnering with No Kid Hungry. We started with a pilot in Arizona and it was an overwhelming success,” said Jennifer Schuler, Wetzel’s Pretzels’ President. “The combination of Steve’s leadership and the amount raised in his market was a catalyst for us bringing this fundraising initiative to all our stores across the nation. Everyone on the Wetzel’s Pretzels’ team couldn’t be more thrilled with how the entire brand got behind this effort.”
“When thinking about philanthropy, I go back to my motto that together we can transform small wishes into big dreams,” said Leibsohn. “Thus, by providing a million meals to the children, they can reach their maximum potential and manifest their own dreams.”
Armed with a vision and a tasty recipe for soft pretzel perfection, Bill Phelps and Rick Wetzel opened the first Wetzel’s Pretzels bakery in Redondo Beach, Calif., in 1994. Long lines of hungry customers soon formed, attracted by mouth-watering soft pretzels that were hand-rolled, baked fresh and served hot from the oven. As word spread about these golden-on-the-outside pretzels, the company added additional offerings to its menu. Today, Wetzel’s Pretzels has grown to more than 340 fresh bakeries across the United States and around the world, including premier locations at Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World Resort. Every Wetzel’s Pretzels bakery adheres to the original vision of its founders; that each super-premium pretzel will be crafted from fresh dough and baked in-store consistently throughout the day, to ensure a delicious offering for each consumer, regardless of when the craving for a pretzel strikes. For additional information on Wetzel’s Pretzels or franchise opportunities, please visit the website, call (626) 432-6900, “Like” them on Facebook and follow them on Twitter and Instagram.
No child should go hungry in America. But 1 in 6 kids will face hunger this year. No Kid Hungry is ending childhood hunger through effective programs that provide kids with the food they need. This is a problem we know how to solve. No Kid Hungry is a campaign of Share Our Strength, an organization working to end hunger and poverty. For more information, please visit NoKidHungry.org
