Citizens Bank Donates $250K to The Gr. Boston Food Bank to Help Fight Hunger – $20K for Merrimack Valley Families

Part of $415,000 state-wide effort in 2017

BOSTON, MA – Citizens Bank today announced that as part of its Citizens Helping Citizens Fight Hunger initiative, it is donating a total of $250,000 to support The Greater Boston Food Bank (GBFB). Nearly 130 Citizens Bank volunteers participated as the Bank presented the check to GBFB in support of Hunger Action Month to provide hunger relief, nutrition assistance, and help improve access to food for families. The donation is part of $415,000 Citizens has given across the state to fight hunger.

“Hunger exists in every community with many families struggling to put food on the table daily,” said Jerry Sargent, President, Citizens Bank, Massachusetts. “The Greater Boston Food Bank does incredible work to help get food to our community neighbors and we are proud to provide them the support to help make this happen. Hunger Action Month should be a call for all of us to start an ongoing and long-term commitment to ending hunger.”

One out of every ten people in Massachusetts struggle to put food on the table, and the work of GBFB is critical to helping address this problem. Citizens Bank has been a long-time GBFB supporter, including providing $200,000 for two refrigerated distribution trucks.

“Citizens Bank’s donation supports the operation of two GBFB trucks, which last year delivered more than 4.8 million pounds of food—the equivalent of 4 million healthy meals—to people in need across Eastern Massachusetts,” said Catherine D’Amato, GBFB president and CEO. “This year’s donation will enable us deliver even more food and will have a real impact on our efforts to end hunger here.”

     The Food Bank will use its grant for their Food Distribution Program which distributes nearly 3 million pounds of food annually in 33 communities throughout Merrimack Valley with a $20,000 donation.

As part of its Hunger Action Month initiatives Citizens Bank is also providing support to the following organizations:

·         The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts – The Food Bank will use its grant toward the delivery of more emergency food throughout the four counties of Western Massachusetts. Without this delivery service, more than 89,000 people would have limited access to fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as perishable foods such as meat, fish, poultry and dairy items.

·         Women’s Lunch Place of Greater Boston – The Lunch Place will use its funding to support its Meals Program which provides women with hearty breakfasts and lunches, Monday through Saturday that improve the physical and emotional well-being of their guests.

·         Merrimack Valley Food Bank – The Food Bank will use its grant for their Food Distribution Program which distributes nearly 3 million pounds of food annually in 33 communities throughout Merrimack Valley.

·         Family Pantry of Cape Cod – The Family Pantry will use the donation to help support its Mobile Food Pantry, which delivers food to families throughout the Cape who don’t have access to reliable transportation. 

·         Community Servings – Community Servings will use the funding to provide home-delivered meals and nutrition services to individuals and families living with critical and chronic illnesses. Their made-from-scratch, medically tailored meals meet the nutritional and medical needs of clients who are fighting illnesses like HIV/AIDS, diabetes, cancer, kidney disease, and many others. Community Servings offers 15 medical diets, with up to three combinations per client, and delivers to 20 cities and towns in Massachusetts.

Citizens Helping Citizens Fight Hunger is part of the bank’s broader Citizens Helping Citizens program, which addresses four key areas: hunger, economic development, financial education and volunteerism. Get more information about Citizens Bank’s community initiatives online.

To learn more about Citizens Bank, customers can call the 24/7 customer contact center at 1-800-922-9999, like the bank on Facebook, follow the bank on Twitter and Instagram or visit the Citizens Bank website.