By James B. Hyatt

Philip Morris Companies Inc. has launched a four-year, $100 million "Fight Against Hunger" campaign that will provide cash and food donations to anti-hunger groups throughout the United States.

The "Fight Against Hunger" effort will combine $50 million in cash gifts with $50 million in food donations. The initiative is believed to be the largest corporate campaign to fight hunger in American history, Philip Morris officials say.

The $50 million in cash will fund:

• food delivery programs for the homebound, including the elderly and people with HIV/AIDS
• food banks, soup kitchens, food pantries, homeless and domestic violence shelters, and food-rescue programs nationwide.

The Philip Morris donations are expected to add as much as 20 percent to the one billion pounds of food distributed through these networks.

The $50 million in food donations will be distributed through Second Harvest's national network of food banks. These food donations will allow Second Harvest to provide 30 to 40 million additional meals.

The Philip Morris Fight Against Hunger effort will also support existing company-sponsored programs, including:

• Helping the Helpers, which provides emergency donations to food pantry programs, soup kitchens and home-delivered meal services
• Fresh Produce Initiative, a Kraft Foods program that provides food banks with the equipment necessary to store and distribute large quantities of fruits and vegetables
• Fighting Hunger, a program that fosters public-private "collaborations, financial contributions, and applied research" for anti-hunger efforts.

A recent survey of the 30 largest cities conducted by the U.S. Conference of Mayors showed 78 percent have seen a rise in demand for emergency food assistance during the past year, and more than 20 percent of all food requests went unmet.

James B. Hyatt can be reached at
jbhyatt@mindspring.com