MILWAUKEE (March 1, 2018) – Cousins Subs® and the Milwaukee Bucks join teams with Hunger Task Force for a third year to Block Out Hunger in Wisconsin.

This Wisconsin-based triple threat will post up against food insecurity throughout the state—both on and off the court—and is recruiting the help of the local community. From March 1 – 31, all are invited to get in the game by donating three healthy nonperishable food items, such as peanut butter, low sodium canned vegetables or low sugar breakfast cereal, at their local Cousins Subs to support Hunger Task Force and food pantries throughout Wisconsin. Those who donate will receive a ‘buy a 7 ½” sub, get a FREE 7 ½” sub’ offer and Bucks ticket offer. All participating food pantries provide food free of charge to hungry families and food collected through the program stays in Wisconsin communities.

In addition, to honor the Bucks 50th anniversary, Cousins is donating $50 to Hunger Task Force for every blocked shot the Bucks have throughout the season—a total that continues to rise with 320 blocks and $16,000 in donations so far. Each dollar raised supports emergency food supplies at 37 pantries statewide.

“By partnering with teammates such as the Milwaukee Bucks and Hunger Task Force, we are creating a powerful coalition against hunger in Wisconsin,” said Justin McCoy, vice president of marketing at Cousins Subs. “And, with the help of our neighbors, we can provide healthy and nutritious meals for thousands right here in our own communities. Please join us throughout March, and let’s Block Out Hunger!”

Since the campaign’s inception in 2016, Cousins and the Milwaukee Bucks raised a total of $29,665 for Hunger Task Force, and the local sub shop’s Wisconsin restaurants collected 10,349 pounds of food that was distributed to food pantries statewide to support their emergency food supplies.

“The Bucks value like-minded partners like Cousins and Hunger Task Force, who are committed to helping those in need in our community,” said Matt Pazaras, Bucks senior vice president of business development and strategy. “Over the past three seasons we’ve built a great relationship, and Block Out Hunger is a cornerstone piece of the program as we work together to fight food insecurity and hunger in Wisconsin.”

Cousins and the Bucks chose Hunger Task Force as the beneficiary of the Block Out Hunger campaign because it’s Milwaukee’s only Free & Local food bank, is Wisconsin’s leading anti-hunger organization and has a strong network of partnering pantries. The nonprofit collects nearly 10 million pounds of food a year and delivers it to 76 food pantries, soup kitchens and homeless shelters, which combined, serve more than 50,000 people each month.

“Communities throughout Wisconsin need our help, and Block Out Hunger is a great opportunity to do that, not only by educating others, but by helping families in their own backyards,” said Sherrie Tussler, executive director of Hunger Task Force. “Hunger Task Force is looking forward to a third year of this partnership and encourages everyone to bring healthy donations to their local Cousins Subs.”

The effects of campaigns such as Block Out Hunger are felt by thousands locally in Wisconsin. On average, there are nearly 18,000 monthly household visits to Hunger Task Force-affiliated food pantries and 43,645 monthly meals served at Hunger Task Force-affiliated meal sites.

All are encouraged to follow along throughout the season to see how Cousins Subs and the Milwaukee Bucks are blocking out hunger by visiting bucks.com/blockouthunger.

###

ABOUT COUSINS SUBS

Wisconsin-based Cousins Subs®, a family-owned, fast casual sub shop established in 1972 by Bill Specht and his cousin, is driven by the mission to Believe in Better – both in the quality of food it serves and in the communities it supports. Cousins Subs and its franchisees operate more than 100 sub sandwich shops throughout Wisconsin and Arizona, providing guests with quality deli-fresh and made to order grilled subs using only the freshest ingredients on its signature bread baked daily. For more information, visit www.cousinssubs.com. You can also find Cousins Subs on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

ABOUT MILWAUKEE BUCKS

The Milwaukee Bucks are a professional basketball franchise in their 50th season of play in the National Basketball Association, and third under the direction of a new ownership group headed by Michael Fascitelli, Jamie Dinan, Wes Edens and Marc Lasry. The group purchased the team from Herb Kohl on May 15, 2014, tipping off a new era of Bucks basketball with the promise of building a championship-caliber team on and off the court that will unite the community and play a leading role in revitalizing downtown Milwaukee.

ABOUT HUNGER TASK FORCE

Hunger Task Force believes that every person has a right to adequate food obtained with dignity. We work to prevent hunger and malnutrition by providing food to people in need today and by promoting social policies to achieve a hunger free community tomorrow. For more information, visit HungerTaskForce.org.