Michael Kors is pleased to announce that Academy Award-winning actress Lupita Nyong'o has joined Watch Hunger Stop, the brand’s global philanthropic campaign against hunger.
Now entering its seventh year, Watch Hunger Stop supports the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and its school meals program. The Watch Hunger Stop campaign has helped WFP deliver more than 18 million meals to children since its inception.
“I am proud to support Watch Hunger Stop because it focuses attention on solutions to the problem of hunger and encourages people to take action on an individual basis,” says Lupita Nyong’o, explaining her decision to join forces with Michael Kors.
“Watch Hunger Stop helps to fund meals for schools, which has a direct impact on leveling the performance playing field for underprivileged students,” Nyong’o adds. “When students can eat, they can perform better in school which in turn leads to greater opportunities in life. In so doing, Michael Kors and WFP are facilitating better opportunities for women and girls on a daily basis.”
The talented Nyong’o, whose extraordinary career includes a Tony-nominated Broadway debut in Eclipsed, her role as Patsey in the film 12 Years A Slave, for which she won an Oscar, and roles in films Black Panther, Queen of Katwe, and Star Wars: The Force Awakens, among others, is in the midst of a whirlwind year. In addition to her roles in Us and the zombie comedy Little Monsters, she has a children’s book, Sulwe, that Simon & Schuster will publish on October 15th. Nyong’o and Danai Gurira’s planned adaptation of the novel “Americanah” has received a straight-to-series order at HBO Max, as a limited 10-episode series. Nyong’o will star in the series, with Gurira writing the pilot and serving as showrunner. Despite the many demands on her time, Nyong’o believes in using her talent and influence to support causes that are important to her. She is an engaged advocate for women and girls and an avid supporter of wildlife conservation, serving as Global Elephant Ambassador for the international conservation organization WildAid.
“Lupita is smart, talented, compassionate and strong, with an extraordinary ability to inspire others,” says Michael Kors. “I’m thrilled that she has joined us in the fight against hunger. Her empathy, honesty and commitment will make her a powerful force for change in the effort to build a world with zero hunger.”
The theme of this year’s Watch Hunger Stop campaign is FOOD IS LOVE, words that Kors often uses when talking about why he was drawn to the issue. To help feed a child is to care for them, to share their hopes and dreams, to support them as they make their way in the world. School meals provide children in food-insecure regions with the nutrition they need to grow and to thrive. They also provide an incentive for families to send their children, especially girls, to school.
