RI Foundation issues $100,000 grant to stock local food pantries

Posted 12/19/18

The holiday season just got a lot brighter for people who depend on local food pantries thanks to a $100,000 grant from the Rhode Island Foundation. Sparked by a recent report that food prices are rising three times faster than wages, the Foundation made

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RI Foundation issues $100,000 grant to stock local food pantries

Posted

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

Sparked by a recent report that food prices are rising three times faster than wages, 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.

R.I. Community Food Bank will use the grant to make 300,000 additional pounds of food available to food pantries like CCAP in Cranston, St. Robert in Johnston and Westbay CAP in Warwick.

“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," Neil D. Steinberg, the foundation’s president and CEO, said in a statement.

The Food Bank will use the grant to make more food available to organizations like the Comprehensive Community Action Program’s (CCAP) Food Bank in Cranston, the St. Robert Food Closet in Johnston and the Westbay CAP Marketplace in Warwick.

Food Bank officials say the donation is among the largest the organization has received this year. The money will enable it to buy another 300,000 pounds of food – enough to provide an additional 370,000 meals – to food pantries like CCAP and Westbay.

“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 Schiff.

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 to get the food into the hands of hungry residents.

“The Rhode Island Food Bank is wonderful partner, our Food Bank serves over 800 families monthly and last year we provided over 150,000 meals to families in need,” said Lee Beliveau, CCAP’s vice president of development and corporate affairs.

The announcement comes as proposed federal cuts to safety net programs threaten to overwhelm the state’s straining 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,” said Andrew Schiff, the Food Bank’s CEO.

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.

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