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City Harvest receives $20K grant to continue fight against child hunger

THE COURIER/Photo by Angy Altamirano

City Harvest will be able to continue its efforts in battling child hunger thanks to a grant and continuous collaboration with a company known to keep America running.

The food rescue organization received a $20,000 grant in Long Island City on Wednesday morning from the Dunkin’ Donuts & Baskin-Robbins Community Foundation (DDBRCF) to support the local Backpack Program/School Pantry Program.

“City Harvest is grateful for Dunkin’ Donuts’ long-standing commitment to the fight against hunger in New York City,” said Leslie Gordon, senior director of program strategy and operations for City Harvest. “Nearly one in four children in our city don’t know when or where their next meal is coming, and this grant will help support our efforts to combat childhood hunger.”

The Backpack Program offers hungry children nutritious and easy-to-prepare food to take home on weekends and school vacations when there are no other resources available for them. The School Pantry Program also helps alleviate child hunger through providing food for children and their families to take home from school.

City Harvest will also use the grant money, which is part of DDBRCF’s three-year $1 million commitment with Feeding America, to support its own Fruit Bowl program.

Through this program, City Harvest delivers fresh fruit and low-fat dairy to low-income children at daycare centers, preschools and after-school programs. The organization then pairs the food with nutrition lesson to help the children learn lifelong healthy eating habits. This year City Harvest will provide around 570,000 pounds of snacks to more than 6,300 children.

“We are so excited to continue into the second year of commitment to support Feeding America’s child hunger efforts with the largest donation in DDBRCF history,” said Mitch Cohen, Metro NY franchisee and co-chair of the Dunkin’ Donuts & Baskin-Robbins Community Foundation. “Dunkin’ Brands and its franchisees incorporate serving those in need in our communities across the country into every part of our business. Supporting the fight against hunger and particularly childhood hunger has been rewarding work.”

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