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The non-profit Arby’s Foundation is the first national fast food restaurant that teamed up with the “No Kid Hungry” campaign of Share Our Strength.  Arby’s restaurant launched its “Share Your Good Mood” campaign to raise funds which coincided with the launching of its healthier kid’s meals – Jr. Turkey and Cheese Sandwich and Kraft Macaroni & Cheese – in October.  Kate Atwood, executive director of the Arby’s Foundation, says “We set the $1 million goal as something that would be lofty to reach in just one quarter of the year. We were blown away by the $2 million mark.”  “But we knew, if we came in and … launched a new nutritious kids’ meal, that we would have an amazing opportunity to move the needle on this cause”, she told QSRMagazine.com

The Arby’s Foundation, the nonprofit charitable arm of Arby’s, announced that it raised more than $2 million in the fourth quarter to support Share Our Strength’s “No Kid Hungry” campaign. The total is double what Arby’s originally pledged to donate.

The sandwich concept raised the money through its “Share Your Good Mood” campaign, which launched in October in conjunction with Arby’s healthier kids’ meal roll out.

The campaign asked Arby’s customers to donate $1 in return for a coupon and wall pin-up in the store, which helped raise $1.7 million. Additional funds were raised through a Foursquare promotion in which Arby’s pledged to donate $1 for every check-in, and the Arby’s Foundation contributed an additional $300,000.

Kate Atwood, executive director of the Arby’s Foundation, says the Foundation was “optimistic” about meeting its pledge for “No Kid Hungry,” but didn’t expect how well the campaign ultimately performed.

“This was a new cause partnership for the brand, and we knew going into it that it had the potential to resonate better with our employees, our team members, and our customers,” Atwood says. “We set the $1 million goal as something that would be lofty to reach in just one quarter of the year. We were blown away by the $2 million mark.”

Arby’s became the first national quick serve to partner with the “No Kid Hungry” campaign, which seeks to end childhood hunger in America by 2015.

Atwood says the Foundation chose to partner with Share Our Strength because it wanted to make a significant impact on an issue that was meaningful to its customers.

“It was a bold statement for a quick-serve restaurant to join the fight in childhood hunger, and we were certainly the biggest to do so,” she says. “But we knew, if we came in and … launched a new nutritious kids’ meal, that we would have an amazing opportunity to move the needle on this cause.”

Arby’s debuted an updated kids’ menu with the “Share Your Good Mood” launch in October. The Atlanta-based company added two new kids’ meal entrees—Jr. Turkey and Cheese Sandwich and Kraft Macaroni & Cheese—and replaced fries with apple slices and strawberry yogurt dipping sauce as a side to every option on its Kids Meal menu.

Atwood says the partnership with Share Our Strength will evolve moving into 2012, and that the Arby’s Foundation will aim for loftier goals in the next “Share Your Good Mood” campaign.

“I think we have to go for $3 [million] next year,” Atwood says. “I think it’s only appropriate. We want to push this further, we want to innovate more. Now we get to have the opportunity to work with Share Our Strength to put these funds to use in our communities and in our nation. We’re really excited about that for 2012.”

Photo by Andrew T…