Nonprofit Share our Strength has launched Operation No Kid Hungry, its first mobile campaign to raise funds to help end childhood hunger.

Between now and March 1, subscribers of all major wireless carriers can donate $5 to Share Our Strength by text messaging the keyword SHARE to 20222. AT&T will match donations up to $100,000.

"It's a two-fold strategy," said Chuck Scofield, chief development officer at Share Our Strength, Washington. "One element is the texting element and the second piece is the food drive with AT&T.

"We are trying to raise funds and be a catalyst for non-profits all over," he said.

Share Our Strength is the leading national organization dedicated to ending childhood hunger in America.

The United States has seen a dramatic jump in the need for food assistance in the last six months. Some food pantries Share Our Strength funds had a 40- to 50-percent increase in demand - much of it from working families and people seeking help for the first time.

President-elect Obama pledged to end childhood hunger by 2015 during his presidential campaign. He has also called for a national day of service on Jan. 19, Martin Luther King Day.

In response, Share Our Strength is asking people to send a text donation and hold food drives to help feed those in need.

Food pantries and food banks especially need foods rich in protein, such as peanut butter and canned tuna, chicken, and salmon.

AT&T, Share Our Strength's partner in this program, will launch a nationwide employee food drive in 32 cities.

The AT&T food drive kicks off today in six cities -- Atlanta; Chicago; Dallas; Hartford, CT.; Sacramento, CA; and Washington, D.C. The remaining 26 cities will launch their food drives on Jan. 19.

All funds raised will support Share Our Strength's national work to end childhood hunger, which finds ways to feed the hungry in our communities, funds the most effective anti-hunger organizations in each state, and makes the most of state, federal, and local resources.

This national text-donation campaign is made possible through the Mobile Giving Foundation.

"This program really does speak to the president elect's campaign," Mr. Scofield said. "Obama motivated young people with his mobile initiatives and enlisting these young folks is important to us.

"Young people are an active and engaged group of people excited about the reality that we could end child hunger in America in our lifetime."