Food Bank receives $20,000 grant from The Dunkin’ Donuts & Baskin-Robbins Community Foundation
Grant will support Good Shepherd Food Bank’s School Pantry Program to help fight child food insecurity in Maine
AUBURN, ME (July 10, 2014) – Good Shepherd Food Bank announced today that it has received a $20,000 grant from The Dunkin’ Donuts & Baskin-Robbins Community Foundation (DDBRCF). The donation is part of a three-year, $1,000,000 grant from DDBRCF to Feeding America to support critical child hunger initiatives nationwide. The grant will help the 64,000 children who struggle with hunger in Maine through supporting the Food Bank’s School Pantry program.
The School Pantry Program helps alleviate child hunger in America through the provision of food to children and their families to take home from school.
“This funding from the Dunkin’ Donuts & Baskin-Robbins Community Foundation will be crucial in helping us expand the School Pantry program at several schools,” said Kristen Miale, president of Good Shepherd Food Bank. “The schools that we’ve partnered with to offer food resources through School Pantry have been so appreciative; we know that by providing more food to these schools, we will reach more kids and families who are struggling with hunger.”
The DDBRCF grant funds will be used to expand service at five of the Food Bank’s highest need, most rural School Pantry sites. Additional food resources will be provided to Beatrice Rafferty Elementary in Perry, Milo Elementary, Indian Township Elementary, Kingman Elementary, and Mattawancook Junior High School.
In total, Good Shepherd Food Bank partners with 39 schools across Maine to operate the School Pantry program.
According to Mitch Cohen, a Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin-Robbins Franchisee and Co-Chair of The Dunkin’ Donuts & Baskin-Robbins Community Foundation, “Dunkin’ Brands and its franchisees are committed to serving the basic needs of our communities throughout the country, each and every day. One of the most pressing needs facing our communities is the fight against hunger, particularly childhood hunger. We are proud to make the largest donation in the Foundation’s history to Feeding America to support this cause, and we look forward to continuing to partner with Feeding America member food banks in 2014 and beyond.”
The $1,000,000 DDBRCF grant, the largest donation in the Foundation’s history, will be distributed among Feeding America member food banks across the United States. The DDBRCF has partnered with Feeding America at the national level since 2007 and in addition to the most recent grant has donated more than $1,000,000over the past seven years to support Feeding America and its local food banks. Additionally, over the past seven years, the DDBRCF has addressed the issue of hunger relief through both national and local effort. Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin-Robbins franchisees have held fundraisers to support local food banks, led food drives in the communities they serve and organized volunteer days at their local food banks to help fill backpacks with nutritious meals for children.
L to R: Dana Reid of Dunkin Donuts, Rebecca Wright of Good Shepherd Food Bank, and Elizabeth Ellingson of Dunkin Donuts
About Good Shepherd Food Bank
As the largest hunger relief organization in Maine, Good Shepherd Food Bank provides for Mainers facing hunger by distributing nutritious food to 600 partner agencies across the state, including food pantries, meal sites, and youth programs. Together with its network, the Food Bank leads a statewide effort to combat the root causes of hunger by engaging in advocacy, nutrition education, and strategic partnerships. In 2013, the Food Bank distributed more than 15 million pounds of food to families, children, and seniors in need throughout Maine. Website: www.feedingmaine.org; Phone: (207) 782-3554; Facebook: www.facebook.com/feedingmaine; Twitter: www.twitter.com/feedingmaine.
About The Dunkin’ Donuts & Baskin-Robbins Community Foundation: The mission of The Dunkin’ Donuts & Baskin-Robbins Community Foundation is to serve its neighborhoods by taking care of their basic needs: hunger, children’s health and safety. The DDBRCF brings together a wide network of stakeholders, including franchisees, crew members and employees to serve their local communities. Launched in 2006, The DDBRCF has granted more than $4,500,000 to local charities.
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