Statewide high school food drives net 94K pounds of food for NH families
Participating schools in partnership with NH Food Band, NH Interscholastic Athletic Association, and WMUR, collected enough to provide more than 76,000 meals to local families in need.
MANCHESTER, NH ─ The New Hampshire Tackles Hunger campaign generated more than 76,428 meals earlier this fall, providing nutritious food to those in need in New Hampshire. As part of this food drive, which is a joint effort coordinated by WMUR-TV, the New Hampshire Food Bank and the New Hampshire Interscholastic Athletic Association (NHIAA), all 58 participating New Hampshire high schools together collected food and monetary donations during high school football games throughout the fall.
Between food and cash donations, this year’s New Hampshire Tackles Hunger campaign generated the equivalent of 94,114 pounds of food — all of which stays in local communities to help those in need.
“The New Hampshire Food Bank is extremely grateful to the participating high schools, NHIAA, and WMUR-TV for supporting our ongoing mission to eliminate hunger in New Hampshire,” said Eileen Groll Liponis, executive director, New Hampshire Food Bank, a program of Catholic Charities New Hampshire. “Initiatives like New Hampshire Tackles Hunger are crucial in helping the one in nine New Hampshire residents who do not know where their next meal is coming from. We are consistently humbled by the generosity of the people of New Hampshire.”
New Hampshire Tackles Hunger was launched six years ago and during that time, the effort has generated the equivalent of 361,411 pounds of food for local food pantries. Each participating school works with a local agency to ensure donations reach community members in need.
During this year’s campaign, the Dead River Company and Hannaford Supermarkets donated $250 Hannaford gift cards to each participating school to help purchase food for the campaign. In addition, the Lois Ray Dickerman Fund donated $500 to every Booster Club that participated in the campaign and met a total food collection minimum.
This support from the New Hampshire Tackles Hunger campaign comes as the demand in New Hampshire continues to grow. During 2017, the New Hampshire Food Bank distributed 13.7 million pounds of food to its more than 425 partner agencies. This year, to meet the need, the New Hampshire Food Bank expects to distribute more than 14 million pounds of food by year’s end.
For more information and to donate, visit www.nhfoodbank.org.
