The RAGU brand on Thursday announced a monetary donation to the Cliff Hagan Boys & Girls Club to support the Operation Club Cares program.
The program was implemented with the goal of providing hunger relief for families facing unprecedented hardships caused by the outbreak of COVID-19. The initiative supports families in need by offering bags of essential goods valued at approximately $20 per bag, with each bag containing the equivalent of five meals.
Each bag includes a variety of shelf-stable foods like RAGU Pasta Sauce, personal care items and childrens’ games. Bags are distributed to members of the Cliff Hagan Boys & Girls Club and their families every Friday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. until the club reopens.
Club members can pick up bags at the Buckland Square and Rolling Heights locations in Owensboro.
The Boys & Girls Club has also partnered with five local Owensboro schools to impact more families and aid in the distribution of Operation Club Cares bags.
Steve Winkler, CEO at the Cliff Hagan Boys & Girls Club, said they were overjoyed to receive the valuable commitment from Mizkan America on behalf of the RAGU pasta sauce brand.
“This will allow us to expand the Operation Club Cares program, enabling us to help 350 families per week,” he said. “We welcome this support on behalf of the RAGU brand because it will also increase the value of the essential food items included in our bags and give us the ability to extend the timeline of this initiative.”
Barb Pritikin, Senior Associate Brand Manager for Mizkan America, Inc., said the RAGU team was honored to give back locally since the brand operates its sauce making and distribution facility in Owensboro.
“As a food company, we are excited about this new partnership with the Cliff Hagan Boys & Girls Club to help address food insecurity,” he said. “We wanted to support an organization in the Owensboro community and an institution valued by many of our local employees.”
