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Arby's Hungry for Happiness mobile tour visiting St. Louis

August 12, 2013

Arby's Hungry for Happiness mobile tour is stopping in St. Louis this week to help raise awareness about the issue of childhood hunger and to increase participation in free summer meals sites for kids located in the area.

Summer continues to be a vulnerable time for those who rely on school breakfast and lunch during the school year, but in Missouri, only 12.5 percent of school children who rely on free or reduced-price school lunches during the school year currently participate in summer meal programs. These free programs are available to kids and teens age 18 and under at thousands of summer meals sites across the country. Sites are registered with USDA and are held at safe local places such as schools, churches and community centers.

The Arby's Foundation, the charitable arm of Arby's Restaurant Group, has teamed up with Share Our Strength's No Kid Hungry campaign and the YMCA of Greater St. Louis and Operation Food Search to provide more area children access to healthy food during the summer months.

In each market, the tour will provide Arby's Kids Meals, which are endorsed by Kids LiveWell and include a Jr. turkey and cheese sandwich, apple slices and Shamrock Farms low-fat milk, to children participating in the summer meals program. Tour staff will also distribute information on local resources to the public and provide summer activities, such as hula-hoop contests, tug of war, bean bag toss, basketball and other family-friendly games to get kids moving.

The tour will also host a benefit night at the Arby's at 11976 Paul Mayer Ave., Bridgeton, where 20 percent of the evening's sales will be donated to Operation Food Search.

"Childhood hunger is a serious issue in the St. Louis area, and we truly appreciate the efforts of the Arby's Foundation and Share Our Strength in raising awareness about the topic and resources available to local families," said Gary Schlansker, president and CEO of the YMCA of Greater St. Louis. "The Y is committed to ensuring that every young person in the St. Louis area has the opportunity to become a healthy, productive member of society, and we know that diet and nutrition is a crucial part of that."

Tour stops include:

• Aug 14: 11 a.m.-1 p.m., O'Fallon Park Rec Complex, operated by the YMCA of Greater St. Louis, 4343 West Florissant, St. Louis and
• Aug. 15: 5-8 p.m., Arby's at 11976 Paul Mayer Ave., Bridgeton.

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