Pop singer Beyoncé is encouraging her fans to bring non-perishable food items to a pre-concert food drive in Los Angeles on September 2, as part of her Beyoncé Experience Tour. Past tour dates in Houston, Atlanta, Washington, D.C., and Chicago have yielded shipments of food for Second Harvest food banks locally. Fans are rewarded for the effort with prizes and seat upgrades…

The first 1,000 fans in each of the five cities to drop off non-perishable food items were scheduled to receive an autographed photo of Beyoncé, while any donated food items automatically entered the donor into a raffle for a chance to have their seats upgraded.

"Hunger affects every community in the United States," said Beyoncé. "So I'm using my Tour and Survivor Foundation to bring attention to domestic hunger and joining forces with Pastor Rudy and America's Second Harvest to fight hunger."

Beyoncé grew up attending St. John's Church with Pastor Rudy, where she learned at a young age the importance of reaching out and helping those who are less fortunate. It's that upbringing that sparked the birth of her Survivor Foundation.

"Reaching out and touching lives is incredibly empowering. That's why I want my fans to experience more than my music this summer. I want them to experience the joy of making a difference by helping someone else," said Beyoncé.

More than 35 million Americans struggle with limited access to food. Any help - donating time, money or food - will make an enormous difference. You can find out more at www.beyonce.com, www.pastorrudy.net, or www.secondharvest.org.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons