PROVIDENCE – The Rhode Island Foundation has awarded the Rhode Island Community Food Bank a $100,000 donation to tackle the growing hunger crisis in Rhode Island, the foundation announced Tuesday.
“The purpose of this grant is not only to address the alarming increase in hunger in our state, but it’s also hopefully to provide leadership and to inspire Rhode Islanders to support the charities of their choice as well as to help those in need going into the winter months,” said Neil D. Steinberg, the foundation’s president and CEO in a statement.
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The foundation cited the food bank’s 2017 Report on Hunger, which showed that hunger in Rhode Island is at its highest rate in 10 years, as an impetus for the donation.
“At the Food Bank, we’re already serving 57,000 Rhode Islanders each month through our network of member agencies,” said Andrew Schiff, the food bank’s CEO. “Cuts to safety net programs like SNAP and WIC will increase the number of people seeking food assistance, and we will need to find additional support to serve them. In addition, many of our clients have already been without benefits for months due to the troubled launch of the state’s UHIP system.”
The food bank estimates that the donation will provide an additional 372,000 meals beyond its normal capacity. Food bank officials also said that the donation was the largest of the year.
The food bank will work with soup kitchens, senior centers and food pantries in more than a dozen cities and towns to distribute food to Rhode Islanders.
Chris Bergenhiem is the PBN web editor.
