MILWAUKEE (May 2, 2016) – Wisconsin-based Cousins Subs® recently joined efforts with the Milwaukee Bucks to ‘Block Out Hunger’—an anti-hunger campaign benefitting Hunger Task Force and food pantries throughout Wisconsin.

This first-year campaign took a dynamic approach to ‘Block Out Hunger.’ The first being a statewide food drive held at the start of the campaign, in which the community was invited to donate three nonperishable food items at any Wisconsin-based Cousins Subs. As a result, a total of 3,267 pounds of food was collected statewide—all donations went to more than 40 local food pantries to be distributed to families in need. In addition, for every blocked shot the Milwaukee Bucks had throughout the season, Cousins Make It Better Foundation made a donation to Hunger Task Force to support emergency food supplies at pantries statewide – a total that amounted to $10,000 by the campaign’s completion.

“The goal of ‘Block Out Hunger’ was to address food insecurity and to collect food for those in communities throughout Wisconsin,” said Justin McCoy, vice president of marketing at Cousins Subs. “With combined efforts from Hunger Task Force and the Milwaukee Bucks, we were to achieve that goal by providing healthy and nutritious meals throughout our local communities.”

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 and Wisconsin’s leading anti-hunger organization. It collects more than 9 million pounds of food a year and delivers it to a network of food pantries, soup kitchens and homeless shelters – again completely free of charge.

“A huge shout-out to Cousins Subs and the Milwaukee Bucks for helping feed families in communities statewide. The ‘Block Out Hunger’ campaign was a big success,” said Sherrie Tussler, executive director of Hunger Task Force. “It not only put food on tables, but raised awareness about hunger in Wisconsin.”

“Cousins Subs is a fantastic partner of ours. Together we’ve demonstrated that our relationship goes beyond basketball to truly make a difference in the community,” said Matt Pazaras, sr. vice president, business development and strategy of the Milwaukee Bucks. “We’re thrilled that our collective focus measurably drove awareness around an important cause and benefitted a fantastic organization, Hunger Task Force. We look forward to working with Cousins to build on this great campaign in the years to come.”

For a closer look at how Cousins Subs and the Milwaukee Bucks helped to ’Block Out Hunger’ this season, visit www.bucks.com/blockouthunger.

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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 that recently finished their 47th season of play in the National Basketball Association, and second under the direction of a new ownership group headed by Marc Lasry, Wes Edens and Jamie Dinan. The trio 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.