Meeting Country Music Duo, Joey + Rory

This weekend, I was invited to meet country music duo, Joey + Rory and hang out with them at the Kraft booth at the Academy of Country Music Experience in Las Vegas. They were in town to show fans how they can help fight hunger with Kraft and supporting Walmart’s Fighting Hunger Together Campaign.

For those that don’t know, The AMC Experience is a free, 3-day country music event by the Academy of Country Music at The Orleans Hotel and Casino. There is music, autograph signings, food trucks, and activities — all for country music fans.

Kraft Foods is a major sponsor of the event. They set up a huge Kraft Country Kitchen area where fans can hang out, sit, and eat great food from one of the many food trucks. And while I’m sure fans loved having a place to take a break, Kraft had an even bigger purpose during the event: raising awareness for the Fighting Hunger Together Campaign with Walmart. To help with that, Kraft has partnered with {adorable}  husband/wife country music duo, Joey + Rory, to get the word out.

Country music fans visiting the Kraft booth were able to learn all about how Kraft is supporting the Fighting Hunger Together Movement and just what they can do to help fight hunger.

Did you know that 1 in 6 Americans don’t know where their next meal will come from? The part that really breaks my heart is that 1/3 of those people are kids. This is something all Americans should be concerned about and something that should not be happening today. Hunger in America is very personal to me as someone who grew up poor, and food donations and food stamps were the way we had meals on the table. And I’ve had points in my life where I was hungry. I know what it’s like and I’m sure my family wasn’t even in the dire situations that some families are in.

Beside donating nearly $1 billion in cash and food to the hunger-relief organization, one of the things I thought was really cool is that Kraft Foods Foundation is launching 10 new mobile food pantries this year. They will be used as “farmers-market-on-wheels” to deliver 9 million pounds of fresh produce and mealtime staples to families. I love this idea, and considering that I recently learned about “food deserts” in the US, it’s important for all of us to know that not everyone in the US has access to fresh produce in a local grocery store.

I have to tell you all a bit about Joey + Rory. David and I were able to sit down with them and talk before much of a crowd showed up and I have to say that they are the sweetest, kindest people you’d ever meet. One of my biggest observations about them is that they are truly simple, happy people, who don’t need (or even want) the glitzy hotels and over-the-top events that Vegas is known for.

Joey and Rory live on their own farm in Tennessee with their children and grow most of their produce and raise chickens. But Joey said that before working with Kraft, they were already using a lot of Kraft products in their own kitchen. They were even using them in the small restaurant, Marcy Jo’s Mealhouse, that they operate in Pottsville, TN. I would LOVE to visit it someday and taste their AMAZING country home cooking!

It really comes as no surprise to me, as parents themselves, fighting hunger is extremely important to Joey and Rory. You could tell how very important fighting hunger is to them.

I knew I wanted to get their autograph, so I brought along a blank recipe card to get their autograph on. When I asked if they would sign it, Rory turned to Joey and said: “why don’t you write down your favorite bread recipe for them?”. She gave him a look – a look that I think many of us wives give our husband. I quickly said, “no, no, you don’t have to do that”. I felt bad like she was totally put on the spot by her well-meaning husband. But, with her beautiful and genuine smile, she said she’d love to. She even said she’d be honored if I shared it with my readers. And she sat and hand wrote her entire bread recipe out on my recipe card.

It’s an experience I won’t ever forget. We had a wonderful time we love that we can share that experience with all of you. And I will share the recipe card and Joey’s homemade bread with all of you soon.

To see more photos that I captured of The AMC Experience and Kraft Foods (including the always fun Oscar Mayer Weinermobile!), check out & follow my Instagram feed: http://instagram.com/memorablebites. You can also watch a bit of Joey + Rory’s “Enough” performance at the Kraft booth that I shared on Vine:

Walmart, with the help of partners like Kraft, is giving $3 million to 100 Feeding America network food banks. To find out more about the Fighting Hunger Together Movement and to learn more about what you can do, and vote for an organization that you think deserves a Walmart grant that can help raise awareness and fight hunger, please visit http://wm8.walmart.com/hunger

Disclosure: I am a member of the Collective Bias®  Social Fabric® Community.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias®  and Kraft Foods #KraftFightsHunger #cbias #SocialFabric