MARLBORO — A desire to help spread the word about world hunger led to a Marlboro mother and her two sons being featured on boxes of Cheerios cereal.
Dolores Catalano said she was reading an issue of the News Transcript when she saw an article seeking submissions for the ShopRite Partners in Caring and General Mills “Expressions of Hunger” video contest.
Nearly 50 million Americans, including 17 million children, suffer from food insecurity, according to Feeding America, a domestic hunger relief charity.
The goal of the contest was to creatively express the plight of the hungry and to offer solutions to the issue through song, poetry, dance or dramatic reading.
Christine Magyarits of ShopRite Partners in Caring said the organization tries to come up with ways to raise awareness of hunger issues by developing unique ways to get consumers involved.
ShopRite Partners in Caring was started 11 years ago to help fight hunger in the communities served by the supermarket, she said.
“We are constantly trying to really raise the bar and let people know that there is this real issue of hunger behind closed doors that they may not know about,” Magyarits said.
When Catalano read the newspaper article about the videos, she wanted to take part in helping with an issue about which she feels strongly. She said hunger is an issue that can be seen in the community.
Catalano said she donates to church food drives and helps with Project EAT (Everyone Ate Today) at the Robertsville School.
In developing a theme for her video, the Marlboro resident said she wanted to be sure to show that hunger is a worldwide problem and not only an issue in undeveloped nations. Her main point was to show that if everyone chips in, the hunger problem can be solved.
Catalano enlisted the help of her sons, Andrew, 11, and Brian, 9, to take part in the video.
The video opens with Andrew sad and crying. The two boys set the table, adding food and drink, symbolizing that chipping in can help, she described.
Catalano’s video was selected as one of six winning entries in the contest. When she learned that her video had been chosen, Catalano and her sons were surprised. Their prize was being featured on a Cheerios box with the other winners.
A limited number of the Cheerios boxes featuring the video contest winners will be available at local ShopRite stores.
On Sept. 10, Catalano was invited to her local ShopRite, where an official unveiling of the box took place.
The winning videos will be featured on the ShopRite Partners in Caring website at www.shopritepartnersincaring.org and the “Expressions of Hunger” contest website, as well as on ShopRite’s YouTube page.