Food Bank for Westchester Honors 'Hunger Heroes'

From Food Bank for Worcester: During its 12th Annual Hunger Heroes breakfast yesterday at Tappan Hill Mansion in Tarrytown, Food Bank for Westchester recognized several community partners who work to end hunger in the county. During the ceremony, Claremont Elementary School, Elmsford Union Free School District, JPMorgan Chase, Cerebral Palsy Westchester and Curtis Instruments were honored for their efforts. VerizonFios1 News Host Christa Lauri was the emcee of the event.

“We are grateful to our ‘Hunger Heroes’ for helping us to eradicate hunger in Westchester County. Through their support, we are able to make a significant impact against hunger for our neighbors,” said Leslie Gordon, President and CEO of Food Bank for Westchester. “Through the tireless efforts and generosity of these organizations, we are able to continue our efforts in feeding the 200,000 people in our county facing hunger. Our annual breakfast was the perfect opportunity to applaud them for their positive impact in the community we all love.”

This year’s Hunger Heroes awardees all contributed to making Food Bank for Westchester’s Backpack Program a success. The program provides Westchester’s at-risk children with nutritious, easy to prepare food for weekends and school vacations. Last year, the Backpack Program served more than 2,200 Westchester children with family-friendly foods such as soups, macaroni and cheese, cereals, pancake mix, applesauce, raisins and other non-perishable foods.

About the 2017 Hunger Heroes Awardees:

Claremont Elementary School received the Community Partner Award. Located in Ossining, the Claremont Elementary School has 750 kids in 3rd and 4th grade. They are committed to fighting hunger with their own Hunger Hero program that collects food for the Food Bank for Westchester. This year, they served as a host for the Eat Healthy NY program for 4th graders and are home to an organic colonial style garden that feeds 60 families every summer. They also distribute 185 backpacks every other week to feed students and their families on the weekend.

Elmsford Union Free School District received the Service Provider Award. Elmsford Union Free School District is committed to taking a larger role in the fight against hunger and providing the best possible services to their community. They sponsor mobile food distributions at schools, attend and speak at Food Bank for Westchester press conferences with elected officials, participate in the Eat Healthy NY program for 4th graders and distribute over 100 backpacks a month at the Alice Grady Elementary School.

Cerebral Palsy of Westchester received the Volunteer Award. Cerebral Palsy Westchester (CPW) is dedicated to providing disabilities related services and programs to help people thrive with dignity. Vocational program participants and Port Chester High School students in transition assemble over 200 backpacks a month. This provides participants with the chance to develop social/interpersonal communication skills as well as employment readiness training. CPW’s Community Based Day Program then delivers the backpacks to children in need at local schools and community centers twice a month.

JPMorgan Chase received the Corporate Service Award. JPMorgan Chase supports the Food Bank for Westchester through employee engagement and philanthropy. JPMorgan Chase employees have been providing matching gifts to the Food Bank since 1995 and last fall they sponsored 5,000 backpacks for Westchester’s at risk children and their families. Additionally, JPMorgan Chase had two teams of 20 employees compete in the Food Bank’s annual Golden Scoop competition last month.

In addition, the 2017 Golden Scoop Corporate Competition Award was presented to Curtis Instruments. On May 19, thirteen local corporations committed to feeding the hungry gathered at Food Bank for Westchester’s distribution center to take part in a friendly competition to repack the most pounds of food in one hour. Thanks to their efforts, an impressive 19,079 lbs. of pasta was repacked to be delivered to some of Food Bank’s community partners throughout Westchester County that feed the estimated 200,000 residents in need. Curtis Instruments was named the winner, repacking 1,700 lbs. of pasta.

For more information about Food Bank for Westchester, visit http://www.foodbankforwestchester.org.

Photo courtesy of Food Bank for Worcester