C&S Donates Over 16,000 Pounds of Food

KEENE, N.H. -- C&S Wholesale Grocers, Inc. here has donated almost 16,500 pounds of food collected by thousands of employees in its fourth annual companywide food drive earlier this month, marking National Hunger Awareness Day.

The "Food for Hungry Kids" campaign brought timely attention to the plight of needy children. "As soon as our associates realized that one in four people in line at soup kitchens is a child, and that there are kids in our own communities who are hungry, they were eager to help," said C&S chairman and c.e.o. Rick Cohen in a statement. "The problem of childhood hunger becomes especially critical during the summer months. There are 9 million children who receive food from community kitchens, shelters, and emergency feeding programs. The USDA estimates that 13.8 million children lived in food-insecure households in 2004, an increase of over 1 million since the 2001 study, and an unfortunate sign that this problem is growing."

During the drive, the company collected food at each of its facilities and delivered it to the closest statewide or regional food bank. From there, the food was given out to local agencies helping families with children.

C&S supplemented employee donations by donating bulk food items to the food industry's "Convoys of Caring" in Hartford, Conn., during which police escorts accompanied C&S trucks and the food convoys to drop off the food donations.

To show its appreciation to participating staff and volunteers, C&S gave aprons to the 23 food banks serving the communities surrounding the company's facilities. Personalized to each food bank, the aprons bore the message "Fighting Hunger, Feeding Hope."

C&S community-involvement programs support initiatives to end hunger and to promote the health and enrichment of local communities.

National Hunger Awareness Day, held this year on June 6, is a yearly observance organized by America's Second Harvest.

The eighth-largest privately held company in the United States, C&S provides distribution services to grocery chains and independent stores, delivering to over 5,000 locations from its DCs in Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, South Carolina, Alabama, California, and Hawaii.
X
This ad will auto-close in 10 seconds