BankRI food drive tops 4,300 pounds for R.I. pantries

PBN Staff

09/09/2024

BankRI summer food drive — BANK RHODE ISLAND has completed its summer food drive, collecting more than two tons of goods to benefit 14 food pantries. At BankRI's Johnston branch, from left, Assistant Branch Manager Leah Fiyod, Branch Manager Donna Sangermano, Senior Teller Dawn Santos, Teller Supervisor Holly Pettis and Senior Teller Darius Poole pack up the food collected at the branch since July 15. / COURTESY BANK RHODE ISLAND

PROVIDENCE – Bank Rhode Island says it collected 4,338 pounds of food during its annual summer food drive, making this year’s effort one of the program’s largest ever.

The food collected benefits 14 community-based food pantries across the state with each pantry also receiving a $1,000 grant from BankRI to buy food. Additionally, BankRI donated $5,000 to the Rhode Island Community Food Bank, which recently announced it had distributed a record amount of food over the past year.

PBN Branded Content

How the Fastest Growing and Most Innovative Companies Utilize Technology for Their Success

As the Managing Director of RIHub, Rhode Island’s Innovation Hub, I have the privilege of…

Learn More

Each month, an average of 82,600 Rhode Islanders seek help from the food bank and its network of food pantries statewide, according to BankRI. The number of people served represents a 50% increase over pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels.

“While far too many of our neighbors are struggling to feed their families, I am grateful to our customers and colleagues for the way in which they step up their support when people need it most,” said William Tsonos, BankRI CEO and president. “It is important for all of us to help others when we are able, and that is especially true when it comes to an issue as serious as hunger.”

- Advertisement -

BankRI began its six-week food drive on July 15 at all 22 branches. For the drive, each branch partnered with a pantry in its community to ensure the food it collected helped feed local residents. The branches that collected the most food were in Johnston, on Highland Avenue in East Providence and in Pawtucket.

The pantries to benefit from the drive are: