Mental HealthFormula 1 Team Races Against Hunger
Panasonic Toyota Racing Formula 1 drivers will team up with the
world"s largest humanitarian agency to fight world hunger on Sunday (June
21) at the British Grand Prix.
Jarno Trulli and Timo Glock are driving cars sporting the logo of the
United Nations World Food Programme"s "Fill the Cup" campaign for the
duration of the 2009 racing season. The aim is to raise awareness among
Formula 1"s millions of fans worldwide that 66 million primary school-aged
children around the world go to school hungry.
"This is a great opportunity to reach all motorsport fans, from the
thousands who attend each Grand Prix to the many millions who watch the
racing on TV," said F1 driver Jarno Trulli. "It only costs 15 pence to
give a hungry child a cup with porridge. We need as many people as
possible
to know they can contribute to find a solution to hunger."
This is the last time the Santander British Grand Prix will be held at
Silverstone, and top British drivers Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton will
be facing off too, ensuring maximum interest.
"Formula 1 provides a unique opportunity for the fight against global
hunger to gain traction," said Nancy Roman, WFP"s Director of Public
Policy, Communications and Private Partnerships, adding that viewers will
be encouraged to feed a hungry child. "Both res and mass awareness
are critical."
The partnership between WFP and the Panasonic Toyota Formula 1 team is an
unusual arrangement in that WFP"s Fill the Cup campaign logo, which
appears
on the TF109 racing cars, has been paid for by Saudi-based sponsor Abdul
Latif Jameel (ALJ). Previously, ALJ -- the largest independent distributor
of Toyota vehicles in the world -- displayed its own advertising on the
team"s cars.
Roman said that it was thought this was the first time that a charitable
organisation had appeared with a campaign logo on a Formula 1 car for the
entire duration of a season.
The fight to end hunger has become more urgent in the wake of the
financial
crisis, which follows on the heels of last year"s food and fuel price
increases. Recent studies have shown that many families are already
missing
meals and cooking cheaper, less nutritious food. At the same time, WFP is
concerned that the economic downturn may lead governments to cut aid
budgets for feeding programmes.
Fill the Cup aims to raise money for WFP"s school feeding programme, which
provides daily meals to more than 20 million children in schools in 68
countries.
Earlier this year, WFP teamed up with the UK School Food Trust to launch
The Really Good School Dinner campaign, raising over GBP 11,000 for WFP
School Feeding Programmes. More than 550 schools participated, by pledging
to empty their plate to fill the plate of a child in the developing world.
United Nations World Food Programme