Providence, RI - Rhode Island First Lady Stephanie D. Chafee will participate in the Rhode Island Community Food Bank's Holiday Meal Drive Open House on Saturday, December 3, 2011. Mrs. Chafee will deliver a car-load of food to donate to the Food Bank.
The Food Bank will hold the Open House from 9 a.m. to noon at its offices at 200 Niantic Avenue in Providence. Individuals, families and groups are invited to bring their donations directly to the Food Bank, take a tour of the facility, and enjoy some hot chocolate and cookies. The community is invited to drop off non-perishable food or cash donations, sort donated food, tour the Food Bank, and return their filled "Nothing" Cans – empty cans with coin slots for collecting spare change that can be donated to the Food Bank. ("Nothing" cans symbolize the hunger experienced by 60,000 Rhode Islanders.)
In response to the growing need for food assistance, the RI Community Food Bank has set a goal of collecting an additional 350,000 pounds of food by Dec. 30, 2011. For those who prefer to donate money, every dollar donated enables the Food Bank to acquire more than three pounds of nutritious food.
The Rhode Island Community Food Bank solicits, stores and distributes food products donated by supermarkets, wholesalers, food processors, local farmers and community food drives. The food is then distributed to the Food Bank's statewide network of 248 member agency programs. In the past fiscal year, the Food Bank distributed 9.4 million pounds of food. For more information about the Food Bank, please visit www.rifoodbank.org.