Thomas & Agnes Carvel Foundation Donates $15,000 to the Food Bank for Westchester

July 11, 2012 - PRLog -- The Food Bank for Westchester, which has been fighting hunger for 24 years, has received grants totaling $34,500 to support the children’s BackPack Program, a trademarked Feeding America program. The Thomas & Agnes Carvel Foundation led in support with a grant for $15,000. Donations of $5,000 each came from the Ronald McDonald House Charities, Citizens Bank, and People’s United Community Foundation. Keybank Foundation donated $4,500.

Children who are hungry or at risk of hunger usually qualify for school meal programs, but they are at high risk of hunger on weekends and during school vacations. The BackPack Program supplies bags of nutritious, easily prepared foods to hungry children on weekends. The Food Bank for Westchester’s BackPack Program has more than doubled in size the past two years, from 15 sites to 39 currently, supplying 2,194 bags of food to children every other week.

“We are grateful to the Thomas & Agnes Carvel Foundation for their generous grant. We also thank the Ronald McDonald House Charities, Citizens Bank, the KeyBank Foundation and People’s Bank for their support,” said Food Bank for Westchester Executive Director Christina Rohatynskyj. “Hungry children often grow up to be poor, unhealthy, unproductive adults. These grants will greatly help us fight child hunger here in Westchester.”

The Food Bank for Westchester estimates that 200,000 people in the county, or one in five Westchester residents, are hungry or at risk of hunger. A third of them are children under the age of 18.

The Food Bank for Westchester is located at 200 Clearbrook Road, Elmsford, NY 10523.

About the Food Bank for Westchester: The Food Bank for Westchester, one of eight food banks in New York State, acquires, warehouses and distributes more than seven million pounds of food annually to 227 frontline hunger-relief organizations, including food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, day care and residential programs. In early 2012, the Food Bank moved to a larger facility at 200 Clearbrook Road, Elmsford 10523 to get more food out to more hungry people in Westchester. The Food Bank’s mission is to lead, engage and educate Westchester County residents in creating a hunger-free environment.