$100,000 grant to stock Barrington food pantries

The holiday season just got a lot brighter for people who rely on local food pantries thanks to a $100,000 grant from the Rhode Island Foundation.

Sparked by a recent report about rapidly rising food prices, the Foundation made the special donation to the Rhode Island Community Food Bank and challenged Rhode Islanders to pitch in during this time of extraordinary need.

"Our goal is not just to address the alarming increase in hunger in our state, but to hopefully to provide leadership and to inspire Rhode Islanders to assist their favorite charities as well as to help people in need as we enter the winter months," said Neil D. Steinberg, the Foundation’s president and CEO.

The Food Bank will use the grant to make another 300,000 pounds of food -- enough to provide an additional 370,000 meals – available to food pantries like TAPIN in Barrington, which helped more than 10,000 individuals last year. The organization operates out of the lower level of the Barrington Public Library and is open most weekdays 9 a.m. to noon.

“We rely heavily on the food and services provided by the Food Bank and the grant will have a substantial impact on the amount and quality of food we are able to purchase and offer to our clients,” said Debbie Thurston, TAPIN’s food director.

“A third of the individuals we helped were children. We continue to welcome about 20 new households for food assistance each month. TAPIN procures over 1,500 lbs. of food weekly from the Food Bank which is delivered by truck to our facility. We count on the Food Bank's purchasing power to get the best quality of food for the best prices,” she said.

The grant will enable the Food Bank to purchase staples such as baked beans, rice, tomato soup, fresh produce and canned carrots, corn and peas. The organization will work with local soup kitchens, senior centers and food pantries like TAPIN to get the food into the hands of hungry residents.

“With this gift, we’ll be able to deliver more food to our member agencies so that they can provide assistance to working families who are struggling to make ends meet,” said Andrew Schiff, the Food Bank’s CEO.

The announcement comes as proposed federal cuts to safety net programs threaten to overwhelm the state’s food pantries, which are already near capacity. According to the Food Bank’s 2018 Report on Hunger, food prices have grown three times faster than wages since 2015.

“We are so thankful to the Rhode Island Foundation for once again stepping up to address food insecurity,” Schiff said.

The Food Bank distributes food to 53,000 struggling Rhode Islanders each month through a statewide network of 158 member agencies including food pantries, meal sites, shelters, youth programs and senior centers.

The Rhode Island Foundation is the largest and most comprehensive funder of nonprofit organizations in Rhode Island. Working with generous and visionary donors, the Foundation raised $38 million and awarded $43 million in grants to organizations addressing the state’s most pressing issues and needs of diverse communities in 2017. Through leadership, fundraising and grant making activities, often in partnership with individuals and organizations, the Foundation is helping Rhode Island reach its true potential. For more information, visit rifoundation.org.