Rio, 10/20/2003 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - On its first day, the Christmas Without Hunger campaign collected 140 tons of food in Rio de Janeiro. The campaign, which is being run by an NGO, Citizenship Action (Ação da Cidadania), kicked off with a show by popular singer Jorge Ben Jor.

The coordinator of the NGO, Mauricio Andrade, declared that it was possible a total of 200 tons of food would be collected throughout the country by the end of the first day of the campaign, setting a new record. Kraft Foods of Brazil made the single biggest contribution of 85 tons (and that was an increase of 30% over what the same firm donated last year).

The campaign is set to last two months. Information on how and where to make donations anywhere in Brazil can be found on the internet at http//www.acaodacidadania.com/br or toll free at 0800-20-2000.

The food collected is to be distributed to the needy by the NGO's 800 committees nationwide on December 20 and 21. (AB)