RUTLAND — Monday, Dec. 15, the Vermont Foodbank held its first event at its new Park Street location in Rutland. Pack to Give Back brought together business leaders, school children, elected officials, and concerned citizens to pack holiday food boxes for 500 Rutland area residents.
“We couldn’t be more thrilled to be expanding into Rutland,” said John Sayles, CEO of the Vermont Foodbank. “The need in Rutland is great and the Foodbank is here to learn and work with our partners and the community to help where we can.”
Pack to Give Back was presented by Vermont Country Store with support from Same Sun of Vermont. “Vermont Country Store has been a longtime supporter of the Foodbank and we are excited to work more closely with the organization as they expand services within the Rutland community,” said Anne Warrell, community relations and communications manager at Vermont Country Store.
Boxes were filled with holiday meal staples, including sweet potatoes courtesy of RAFFL—the Rutland Area Food and Farm Link.
“RAFFL is very happy to participate in the Pack to Give Back event,” said Tara Kelly, executive director of the Rutland Area Farm and Food Link. “We see this as a perfect opportunity to distribute the 2,000 pounds of sweet potatoes that Laughing Child Farm in Pawlet donated to our Glean Team program. We are happy to support this special effort to get high quality foods to people in need this season.”
Thanks to the work of eight network partners in the region, boxes will be distributed to area families in need. For families in search of a holiday meal, Pack to Give Back boxes can be found at these participating agencies: BROC, Our Neighbors Table, Hubbardton-Castleton Food Shelf, Rutland Community Cupboard, Fair Haven Concerned, Rutland City Rescue Mission, and Pittsford Food Shelf.
Vermont Foodbank is the state’s largest hunger-relief organization, serving Vermont through a network of 270 food shelves, meal sites, shelters, senior centers and youth programs. In FY2014, the Vermont Foodbank distributed nearly 9 million pounds of food to 153,100 Vermonters. The Vermont Foodbank, a member of Feeding America, is nationally recognized as one of the most effective and efficient nonprofits and food banks in the nation. Learn more at www.charitynavigator.org.
