06/11/2014

Citizens Bank Foundation announces $105,000 in grants to nonprofits throughout Eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware 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

PHILADELPHIA – The Citizens Bank Foundation today announced that as part of its Citizens Helping Citizens Fight Hunger initiative it is donating a total of $105,000 in grants to support various nonprofits throughout Eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware 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 that provide support to area families and communities in need. Many families struggle to put food on the table, especially during the summer months,” said Daniel K. Fitzpatrick, President and CEO of Citizens Bank and RBS Citizens for Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware. “This need is even greater in the summer months when school is out, because children no longer have access to school lunch programs. Citizens Bank is dedicated to helping residents in the communities we serve.”

Serving as the keystone grant of the initiative is Philabundance, the largest hunger relief organization in the region. Philabundance distributes food through a network of more than 500 providers throughout Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties as well as several counties in Southern New Jersey. The Citizens Bank Foundation is donating $40,000 to the organization to help support “Kids Bites,” a school-based, mobile pantry program.

In addition to funding the “Kids Bites” program for Philabundance, the Citizens Bank Foundation is also providing support to the following organizations as part of its hunger initiative:

  • The Food Trust (Philadelphia, Norristown) – The Food Trust will use its grant to support 350 store-based nutrition activities in low-income neighborhoods in Philadelphia and Norristown through “community hubs” that sell healthy food and provide nutrition education.
  • Greater Philadelphia Coalition Against Hunger – The Coalition Against Hunger will use its funding toward its new “Green Light Pantry Project,” a nutritionally-sound, food delivery program for the city’s most vulnerable to access healthy foods.
  • Benefits Data Trust – The Benefits Data Trust, which connects low-income Philadelphia seniors to public benefits they are eligible for but have not utilized, will use its grant to assist seniors with signing up for the food stamp program known as SNAP.
  • Urban Tree Connection (West Philadelphia) – UTC will use its funding to support its urban farm center to grow food on underutilized land. The organization revitalizes neighborhoods by transforming abandoned open spaces.
  • Center for Transformation (Camden, NJ) – The Center will use its grant to support its Children & Youth programs. The organization is focused on creating young leaders through gardening, cooking, and nutrition programs to address childhood obesity.
  • Greater Berks Food Bank (Berks County) – The Food Bank will use its funding to support its “Weekender Backpack” program, which currently supplies more than 1,300 low-income children with food to take home for the weekends during the school year.
  • West Chester Food Cupboard – The Food Cupboard will provide food during the summer for families with school-aged children, who normally receive meals when school is in session. These families often have to provide an extra 10 meals a week per child.
  • East Park Revitalization Alliance – The East Park Revitalization Center is focusing on opening a farm stand in the Strawberry Mansion neighborhood that will improve access to fresh, locally grown and affordable produce for residents in the community.
  • Food Bank of Delaware – The Food Bank will use its funding for its “Backpack Program,” which provides food to low-income children for weekends and holidays when school is not in session and federal school meal programs are not available. The backpacks are stocked with kid-friendly, nutritious food including shelf-stable milk, juice, spaghetti and meatballs, beef stew, granola bars, apple sauce, and more.
  • Common Market – Common Market, a distributor of local foods to the Mid-Atlantic region, will use its funding to support hospitals and school cafeterias and the “Farmer Hub” program that provides technical assistance to farmers including crop planning, packing, refrigeration and food safety.

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.