06/11/2014

Citizens Bank Foundation announces $35,000 in grants to nonprofits throughout New York as part of its Citizens Helping Citizens Fight Hunger initiative

Grants will support local programs providing hunger relief, nutrition assistance and food access for families

ALBANY, N.Y. – The Citizens Bank Foundation today announced that as part of its Citizens Helping Citizens Fight Hunger initiative it is donating a total of $35,000 in grants to support various nonprofits throughout New York that provide hunger relief, nutrition assistance, and help improve access to food for families.

“To help fight childhood hunger, the Citizens Bank Foundation has committed funding to several nonprofit organizations throughout New York that provide support to area families and communities in need,” said James P. Gaspo, President of Citizens Bank and RBS Citizens, New York. “Many low-income families depend on the services provided to them by these nonprofits to put food on their tables, which can be particularly difficult during the summer months when school is out, and children no longer have access to school lunch programs. Through these grants Citizens Bank hopes to provide some assistance to the many organizations throughout our footprint that are dedicated to helping these families keep from going hungry.”

The Citizens Bank Foundation is providing support to the following organizations as part of its hunger initiative:

  • Food Bank of Western New York, Inc. – The Food Bank will use its grant towards its Summer Vacation From Hunger program and help provide nutritious food to children who are missing school meals throughout the summer, as well as provide children with a safe, supervised, fun environment while school is out. These summer snack programs and camps are located throughout the Food Bank’s four county service area, including Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie and Niagara.
  • Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York – The Regional Food Bank will use its funding for its Children’s Hunger-Free Summer program which feeds low-income children during the summer through traditional distribution, mobile pantry distribution, Summer Food Service Program (SFSP), Camp Lovejoy and the summer backpack program. The program takes place in Albany, Fulton and Montgomery counties. In addition, for seven weeks in the summer, 100 children in five Schoharie County towns will receive bags containing food for five breakfasts and five lunches through the Summer Backpack Program.
  • Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Rochester DBA Food Bank of the Southern Tier – Catholic Charities will use its grant to launch its Regional Summer Meals Coalition program to help move local communities closer to eliminating seasonal food insecurity by collaborating with other nonprofits to provide children with access to summer meals.
  • Food Bank of Central New York – The Food Bank of Central New York will use its funding to eliminate hunger through nutritious food distribution, education, and advocacy in cooperation with the community. Its Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) ensures that low-income children who receive free and reduced-price breakfasts and lunches during the school year receive those meals during the summer months. These meals are provided to school age children (5-18) who are from households living at 185 percent or below the federal poverty level. Last year the Food Bank provided 17,366 breakfasts and lunches to children through this program.
  • The Food Bank for Westchester, Inc. – The Food Bank for Westchester will use its grant for its BackPack Program, a Feeding America™ initiative that targets underprivileged, low-income children who are hungry or food-insecure and are especially at risk during weekends and other times when schools are closed and school meal programs unavailable. The Food Bank for Westchester provides backpacks filled with snacks and easily prepared and shared meal items for these children every other week on Fridays to last through the weekend. During the summer, when school is out of session, the backpacks are delivered to partner sites where children congregate for summer programs and activities.

Citizens Helping Citizens Fight Hunger is part of the bank’s broader Citizens Helping Citizens program addressing five key areas: hunger, housing, economic development, financial education and volunteerism. Get more information about Citizens Bank’s community initiatives online.

About Citizens Helping Citizens
Grounded in the belief that a good bank gives back to its community and to the people who live there, Citizens Helping Citizens is a program embracing the community goals of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. – the commercial bank holding company serving consumer and small business customers as Citizens Bank and Charter One and commercial banking customers as RBS Citizens. The Citizens Helping Citizens program comprises five key initiatives supported directly by CFG and also by its nonprofit charitable foundations, the Citizens Charitable Foundation and the Charter One Foundation: Citizens Helping Citizens Fight Hunger, Citizens Helping Citizens Provide Shelter, Citizens Helping Citizens Strengthen Communities (economic development), Citizens Helping Citizens Teach Money Management (financial education) and Citizens Helping Citizens Give (volunteerism and charitable donations). Across all of these initiatives, Citizens Helping Citizens strives to enhance quality of life and economic vitality in local communities.