New GE Cooking-Focused Facebook App Shares Tips and Recipes for a Cause

LOUISVILLE, Ky.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Just in time for the busiest cooking season of the year, GE Appliances’ new Facebook application offers consumers tips, recipes and a community to learn more about cooking—all with a philanthropic tie.

“Our shared locale fosters a sense of pride, plus the common aspect of food and supporting education pushed the partnership forward.”

The new app’s recipes and cooking tips were created by GE employees, including Chef Joe Castro, Chef Brian Logsdon and product managers. Users can take those tips to improve their skills, then share how they are progressing their culinary skills with friends and family on Facebook.

“Social Kitchen gives people an easy way to open their kitchen to friends and family through Facebook,” says Gina DeWitt, GE digital marketing program manager. “Tracking recipes, learning new cooking methods, and having the ability to easily post that to Facebook results in a sense of community in the kitchen.”

Every time Social Kitchen “chefs” cook a recipe and log it on Facebook, GE will donate a meal to Blessings in a Backpack, a non-profit organization providing children who are on the federal Free and Reduced Price Meal Program with a backpack of food to take home for 38 weekends during the school year.

“GE’s pledged $80,000 donation will feed 1,000 kids,” says Nikki Grizzle, director of marketing and public relations for Blessings in a Backpack.¹ “Not only will they be better nourished, but better test scores, improved reading skills, positive behavior, improved health, and increased attendance have all been attributed to well-nourished children.”²

More than 12 million elementary school children receive free and reduced meals at school, and more than 20 million children in the U.S. are at risk of hunger.¹Social Kitchen will help these children while at the same time introduce cooking enthusiasts and novices alike to new ideas and tips on slow cooking, seasoning, and marinating, in addition to new recipes for every skill level.

“Partnering with Blessings in a Backpack resonated very well with the team at GE,” says Dewitt. Not only does the national charity closely tie in with food, but both organizations are headquartered in Louisville, Ky. “Our shared locale fosters a sense of pride, plus the common aspect of food and supporting education pushed the partnership forward.”

Facebook users can access the app, save recipes and begin earning points for Blessings in a Backpack on GE Appliances’ Facebook page or www.GESocialKitchen.com.

About Blessings in a Backpack
Blessings in a Backpack provides elementary schoolchildren who are on the federal Free and Reduced Price Meal Program with a backpack of food to take home for 38 weekends during the school year. Backpack food includes easy-to-prepare, ready-to-eat foods, like granola bars, juice boxes, mac and cheese, and oatmeal. Blessings in a Backpack is a 501 C (3) non-profit organization currently feeding nearly 62,000 children in 437 schools in 42 U.S. states and three countries—Canada, Colombia and Haiti. The program is a hybrid of private sector funding and public partnership carried out in public schools. We are feeding the future of America, one school at a time.

About GE Appliances
GE Appliances is at the forefront of building innovative, energy-efficient appliances that improve people’s lives. GE Appliances’ products include refrigerators, freezers, cooking products, dishwashers, washers, dryers, air conditioners, water filtration systems and water heaters. General Electric (NYSE: GE) works on things that matter to build a world that works better. For more information on GE Appliances, visit www.ge.com/appliances.

^1.Calculation based on Blessings in a Backpack’s estimation that $80 feeds a child on the weekends for a 38 week school year. www.blessingsinabackpack.org
^2.Blessings in a Backpack. Accessed on Oct. 18, 2012. www.blessingsinabackpack.org