CCAP Food Pantry Gets 3,070 Pounds of Food thanks to BankRI

To help restock the shelves of local food pantries during the late summer, a time when donations tend to slow but the need for food assistance remains high, Bank Rhode Island launched its annual food drive on August 1 at each of its 19 branches across the state. The 7-week effort wrapped up on September 19, resulting in more than 40,000 pounds of food for local pantries thanks to the generosity of customers and staff.

For the drive, which also coincided with September as Hunger Action Month, each BankRI branch partnered with a food pantry that serves its community, ensuring that all of the food collected would remain local to feed area residents. In addition to food collected at the branches, BankRI awarded each pantry a financial grant to help them acquire additional food.

In Cranston, the effort provided 3,070 pounds for Comprehensive Community Action through collections in the Bank’s Atwood Avenue, Park Avenue, and Plainfield Pike branches.

All of the benefiting food pantries are members of the Rhode Island Community Food Bank’s network of emergency food providers. And, each month, the Food Bank’s network serves upwards of 63,000 Rhode Islanders.

“Too many people across our state—adults and children alike—are unsure where their next meal will come from,” said Mark J. Meiklejohn, President and CEO of BankRI. “Our annual food drive is an opportunity to help our neighbors; I’m extremely proud of how our customers and staff came together in support of such an important cause.”

According to a report by the USDA, 1 in 7 Rhode Island households struggle to put food on the table, underscoring the importance of food drives like BankRI’s in helping the Food Bank and its network.

“Support from community partners, like BankRI, its customers and staff, will help ensure that no Rhode Islander goes hungry,” said Andrew Schiff, Chief Executive Officer of the Rhode Island Community Food Bank. “Their grant to our member agencies is particularly important because it will enable them to acquire healthy food, when they need it, so they can keep up with the demand.”

Photo: As part of BankRI’s 2014 Summer Food Drive, its three Cranston branches collected food for Comprehensive Community Action Program. In total, the 7-week effort provided more than 40,000 pounds for food pantries across the state.

(Left to right): Joanne McGunagle, CEO of Comprehensive Community Action Program; Amy Briggs, Atwood Branch Senior Banking Specialist; Christina Boi, Atwood Branch Assistant Manager; Christina Kidd, Atwood Branch Teller; Sabrina Barbosa, Atwood Branch Teller; and Brittny Medeiros, Atwood Branch Teller Supervisor.