Business & Finance
Fri, May 18, 2012 
NEW YORK--([ BUSINESS WIRE ])--BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE: BLK) and Donatella Arpaia, Food Network Star and Owner of Donatella, today announced their partnership to support City Harvestas 10th annual aSkip Lunch Fight Hungera campaign, running from May 14th to May 18th. BlackRock is a proud sponsor for a third consecutive year of Skip Lunch Fight Hunger.
"This is just one part of our ongoing collaboration with City Harvest to help fight hunger in New York City."
Skip Lunch Fight Hunger helps City Harvest meet the need for emergency food throughout the five boroughs, especially during the summer when thousands of kids who depend on school lunches during the year may face hunger. Today, BlackRock employees in the New York office will donate what they would normally spend on lunch and enjoy a meal provided by Donatella, the restaurant at 184 8th Avenue, the Treats Truck, and Fresco on the Go and Pret A Manger, two companies that donate excess food with help from BlackRock employees who transport it to a local soup kitchen.
Based on what was raised years prior during Skip Lunch Fight Hunger, BlackRock expects that employee donations will provide at least 55,000 lunches for New York City children during the summer months.
BlackRock is also hosting its first bake-off, where 20 employees will face-off and share their sweet creations with lunch attendees and have their delicacies judged by restaurateur Donatella and BlackRockas CFO, Ann Marie Petach, Chief Risk Officer, Ben Golub, head of BlackRockas Portfolio Management Group, Rich Kushel, head of BlackRockas US & Canada Institutional Group, Edwin Conway, and head of BlackRockas multi-family office, single family office and HNW channel, Brian Feurtado.
In New York City, itas common to spend $10 on lunch without thinking twice. With that same $10, City Harvest can help provide lunch for 37 children. Even just 27 cents helps City Harvest rescue and deliver 1 pound of food to hungry New Yorkers.
aWe are excited to be a part of this very worthy cause and look forward to continuing to give back to the communities in which we work and live,a said Robert Kapito, President of BlackRock. aThis is just one part of our ongoing collaboration with City Harvest to help fight hunger in New York City.a
aI am honored to partner with two incredible organizations like BlackRock and City Harvest in their efforts to feed hungry children throughout the summer months,a said Donatella Arpaia, Iron Chef Alumna and Owner of Donatella. aAs a mother, this initiative hits close to home and I know that it will have a meaningful impact on the families in our community.a
aThanks in part to the generosity of BlackRock and its employeesa"many of whom already volunteer to rescue food on foot for City Harvesta"as well as Donatella Arpaia, the summer months wonat be hungry months,a said Jilly Stephens, Executive Director of City Harvest.
To learn more about how you can support this effort, visit [ www.skiplunch.org ].
Follow us on Twitter: @BlackRockCo, @DonatellaArpaia; @DonatellaNYC, @CityHarvest
About BlackRock
BlackRock is a leader in investment management, risk management and advisory services for institutional and retail clients worldwide. At March 31, 2012, BlackRockas AUM was $3.684 trillion. BlackRock offers products that span the risk spectrum to meet clientsa needs, including active, enhanced and index strategies across markets and asset classes. Products are offered in a variety of structures including separate accounts, mutual funds, iShares(exchange-traded funds), and other pooled investment vehicles. BlackRock also offers risk management, advisory and enterprise investment system services to a broad base of institutional investors through BlackRock Solutions. Headquartered in New York City, as of March 31, 2012, the firm has approximately 9,900 employees in 27 countries and a major presence in key global markets, including North and South America, Europe, Asia, Australia, and the Middle East and Africa. For additional information, please visit the Company's website at [ www.blackrock.com ].
About Donatella
Donatella Arpaia is a successful New York restaurateur who has opened ten restaurants to date, including Kefi and most recently D Bar and Donatella, her most personal endeavor as the Chelsea restaurant is a true embodiment of her Neapolitan heritage seamlessly aligned with her glamorous role as a successful restaurateur. While her achievements in the industry are numerous, she observes, aIam most proud of what Iam doing now because it feels most like me.a
Arpaiaas distinctions include one of Crainas a40 under 40a, the aHostess with the Mostesta by Zagat and one of the aMost Powerful Women in Manhattana according to the New York Post. Her first cookbook, Donatella Cooks: Simple Food Made Glamorous, was released in April 2010. In addition to numerous TV appearances, Arpaia holds a recurring role as guest judge on the Food Networkas aNext Iron Chefa and aIron Chef Americaa. She is also a regular contributor to NBCas aToday Showa.
About City Harvest
Now serving New York City for 30 years, City Harvest ([ www.CityHarvest.org ]) is the world's first food rescue organization, dedicated to feeding the cityas hungry men, women, and children. This year, City Harvest will collect more than 38 million pounds of excess food from all segments of the food industry, including restaurants, grocers, corporate cafeterias, manufacturers, and farms. This food is then delivered free of charge to some 600 community food programs throughout New York City by a fleet of trucks and bikes. City Harvest helps feed the more than one million New Yorkers that face hunger each year.
City Harvest also addresses issues that surround hunger in New York City by supporting affordable access to nutritious food in low-income communities, educating individuals, families, and communities in the prevention of diet-related diseases, channeling a greater amount of fresh produce into high-need areas, and enhancing the ability of agency partners to feed hungry men, women, and children.
BlackRock is a registered trademark of BlackRock, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
2012 BlackRock, Inc. All rights reserved.
