Omni Hotels and Resorts announced initiatives to combat hunger during September, dubbed Hunger Action Month, according to a news release. Those initiatives include donating 750,000 meals to Feeding America and raising awareness around food insecurity while engaging with the community.
Enter the air balloon, which will make two more stops around the country after starting its journey at the Omni PGA Frisco Resort. The balloon will also stop at the Omni Homestead Resort in Hot Springs, Virginia, and the Omni Atlanta Hotel at CNN Center in Atlanta.
One side of the balloon features Omni’s logo, while the other side displays a web address to the company’s “Say Goodnight to Hunger” website.
“We see Hunger Action Month as a great opportunity to drive impact, multiply our donations, and engage our communities in raising awareness for food scarcity and insecurity,” said Peter Strebel, chair of Omni Hotels & Resorts, in a news release.
Nationwide, Omni is donating two meals for every individual and group booking completed between Sept. 1-30, two meals for every guest who opts out of house cleaning services during their stay, and one meal for every large coffee or espresso sold at its hotels and resorts.
Omni PGA Frisco Resort is scheduled to open in spring 2023, but Jeff Smith, vice president and managing director of the resort, said group bookings are open in advance of the opening. The resort is donating meals to the North Texas Food Bank, part of the Feeding America Food Bank Network, Frisco Family Services and Minnie’s Food Pantry in Plano, he said.
“We're literally lifting up and launching to the initiative of donating to the hungry with our hotels and resorts below,” he said.
Erica Yaeger, chief external affairs officer of the North Texas Food Bank, said Hunger Action Month is a time when food banks across the country come together to generate awareness and inspire action. The North Texas Food Bank has worked with Omni Hotel and Resorts since they started the “Say Goodnight to Hunger” initiative several years before.
About 686,000 people in North Texas experienced food insecurity in 2020, according to a 2020 Map the Meal Gap study conducted by Feeding America. About 257,000 were reported to be under 18 years old.
“It takes all of us to address this issue of food security,” Yaeger said. “A nourished community is a thriving community.”
