About Terry Clark
In a September 2015 interview with WCCO, Terry Clark, then senior vice president of marketing and brand at UnitedHealthcare, discussed the company's partnership with WCCO and Second Harvest Heartland to address senior hunger. Clark stated that more than 9 million seniors nationwide face food insecurity, but only 3 million receive help, and that about 23% of people eligible for federal hunger assistance are receiving it. He described UnitedHealthcare's support of a dollar-for-dollar donation match up to $40,000 through October 31st, and said the company had thousands of employees volunteering with partner organizations.
Clark noted that seniors are often overlooked in discussions about hunger, particularly those living alone, and encouraged caregivers to call a hotline for information on free food resources. He praised Second Harvest Heartland's efficiency, saying the organization turns one dollar into what would otherwise cost five, and described them as innovative partners who drive every dollar back into the community. Clark said the goal was to close the gap on hunger issues and reach multiple constituents, including seniors and caregivers, in Minnesota.
Source: AI-verified profile updated from Terry Clark's recent appearances.
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Transcript (13 segments)
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Host0:00
We're asking for seniors or their caregivers to call right now to find out about free food resources. The number's on your screen right now: 1-800-542-9226. We have a lot of people on the phone, but we have more people here ready to take your calls. Second Harvest Heartland and United Healthcare are helping us with this accomplished Minnesota effort today. On our website, you can donate money to help support Second Harvest Heartland, which gives food to food shelves around the state. All you have to do is go to wcco.com/accomplishMN to donate. And right now, we have Terry Clark joining us, the senior vice president of marketing and brand at UnitedHealth. Thanks for being with us this afternoon. Thank you. Tell us about what this is doing for seniors.
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Terry Clark0:39
Well, first, this is our fourth year partnering with WCCO and Second Harvest to really give more information to seniors in need. We know that more than 9 million seniors nationwide are facing food insecurity, and only 3 million actually get help right now over the age of 65. So we're trying to give people the information they need and actually close that gap on food issues and hunger issues.
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Host1:02
There's two things going on. On the one hand, there are people who maybe are afraid to ask for help, but some people just don't know. They don't know where to go. They don't know there's help out there.
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Terry Clark1:10
Yeah, Jason, about 23% of people that are eligible for federal assistance on hunger are getting it now. So that's just 23%. A significant amount are not. So we want to close that gap.
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Host1:21
What can you do with donations? Because you guys at Second Harvest can really stretch those donations big time.
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Terry Clark1:27
Yeah, donations are big. So United Healthcare is behind this in a big way. We're supporting a dollar-for-dollar match until October 31st, up to $40,000. So if you donate today, we're going to match your dollars. We know that that dollar has a big impact on putting food in the hands of people that really need it.
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Host1:43
We'll have Rob here from Second Harvest in our news at five tonight to talk more about how they take that money and stretch it. But it is staggering. I mean, their operation is unbelievable. The way they turn one dollar into what you or I it would cost us five, I think, to do what they do. It's amazing.
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Terry Clark1:57
Yeah, Jason, one of the things we do is we get our volunteer turnout. We have thousands of employees and we work with organizations all over, and we find that Second Harvest does it better than anyone. They're really innovative. They drive every dollar back into that community, and they're a great partner.
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Host2:11
We just don't know. When it comes to seniors, often it's not an age group we think of as needing help with food. When you think of the hungry, maybe you think of kids or younger adults or families. But seniors are struggling too.
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Terry Clark2:24
They're struggling, and one of the big issues is a lot of it is they're living alone, and it's unknown. So you really have to not only help in ways like this, but you have to watch in your community who's a senior, what are some of their habits, make sure that you're really looking out for the people most in need.
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Host2:39
And that's why you're asking caregivers to give a call too as well today. It doesn't have to be the senior themselves calling.
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Terry Clark2:44
Absolutely. Yeah, we want to really help close this gap. We want to really get at solving hunger in Minnesota, and we know that there are multiple constituents in that. We can do it.
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Host2:53
Thanks, Terry. Thanks for coming in. United Health, Second Harvest, we have the volunteers taking calls. And the number on your screen, and you can donate at wcco.com. Really great to hear how loud it is in here. Right, I could see all of us were kind of like, whoa. So thanks so much for all you've already done. It's a lot of people getting help today. Amelia and Frank back with today's news at five and six.
