RI Food Bank Kicks Off Summer Food Drive

Thursday, June 21, 2012

GoLocalProv Features Team

When the final school bell rings in June, not all children are excited by the prospect of two months away from school.  For the 49,000 Rhode Island children eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, summer can be a time of increased hunger. Many families find it difficult to fill the gap created by the loss of school meals.

On Wednesday, the Rhode Island Community Food Bank kicked off its Summer Food Drive in hopes of collecting an additional 150,000 pounds of food by August 31 to ensure that no Rhode Islander goes hungry. A dozen trucks from local food businesses lined up to kick-start the effort with significant deliveries of nutritious food. Individuals and organizations can visit www.rifoodbank.org/SummerFoodDrive to learn more about how they can participate.

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Summertime's unique challenges

“Summer is a uniquely challenging time for us, because donations often drop as people focus more on family time, fun and relaxation,” says Andrew Schiff, Chief Executive Officer of the Food Bank. “And yet the problem of hunger remains constant throughout the year. We can’t let our guard down, because so many Rhode Islanders are counting on us to help them get through the summertime, when food can be especially scarce for families with children.”

Founded 30 years ago, the Food Bank’s now serves more than 60,000 people through its statewide network of emergency food programs. A third of the people served are children under the age of 18.

How to help this summer

Businesses and organizations around the state can participate by conducting their own food drives. Promotional materials and collection bins are available at the Food Bank; contact Farris Maxwell at [email protected] or 401-942-6325 Ext. 224 to request supplies.

Families and individuals can get involved by bringing donations directly to the Food Bank’s facility at 200 Niantic Avenue in Providence any weekday between 8 am and 5 pm.

Financial donations can be made at www.rifoodbank.org/SummerFoodDrive. Every dollar donated enables the Food Bank to acquire more than three pounds of nutritious food.

The Summer Food Drive is sponsored by Ocean State Job Lot, Galaxy Nutritional Foods and media sponsor GoLocalProv.com. In addition, many local food distributors will make significant food donations to the Food Bank during the Summer Food Drive to help the Food Bank reach its 150,000-pound goal.

Businesses which supported the Summer Food Drive kick-off include AGAR, Bliss Bros. Dairy, Stop & Shop, Little Rhody Foods, Top This Fire-Grilled Pizza Crusts, Confreda Greenhouses & Farms, King’s Hawaiian, Autocrat, Mansfield Paper Company, Munroe Diary, Pepsi Bottling Company and Roch’s Fresh Foods.

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