Generous Donation Expands Fresh Rescue Program
WHO: Chase Representatives & Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin
WHAT: Expansion of Fresh Rescue Program
featuring unveiling of new truck Chase President
of Wisconsin and
Minnesota, Jim Popp, will deliver the truck, employees will unload
and sort
food collected during an employee food drive and distribute the food to
local feeding programs
WHEN: Tuesday, August 24, 2010, 10 a.m. (news conference begins)
WHERE: Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin
1700 W. Fond du Lac Avenue
Milwaukee, WI 53205
(Media please park and enter through 16th Street entrance)
Milwaukee, WI – Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin is celebrating the expansion of the Fresh Rescue program with the addition of a new refrigerated truck generously donated by Chase. The 24-foot truck will assist with pick up and distribution of Fresh Rescue product including meat, produce, dairy and bakery from retail stores in eastern Wisconsin. Last year, the Fresh Rescue program gathered more than four million pounds of fresh food, a 200% increase from the previous year. “Meat and produce provide essential nutrition including protein and vitamins that are often lacking from the diets of those at risk of hunger,” said Bonnie Bellehumeur, president of Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin.
“At Chase, we strive to give back to the local, underserved communities we serve in Wisconsin, particularly when our efforts can enhance their quality of life,” said Jim Popp, Wisconsin and Minnesota President. “This refrigerated truck better equips Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin to deliver nutritious food to our local communities, and we could not be more proud to be part of this hunger relief initiative.”
Chase announced its donation in Wisconsin as part of a $5 million national grant to Feeding America, the nation’s largest domestic hunger relief organization. This is the largest single corporate donation that Feeding America has received to date. This initiative supplies 34 trucks to 20 food banks in communities hit hard by the recession.
“We’re grateful for community partners like Chase that are taking an active role in caring for hungry children and families,” said Bellehumeur. “This truck will provide healthy food choices for those struggling to put food on the table for years to come.”
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330,000 people in eastern Wisconsin rely on food supplied by Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin each year. The food bank is the largest, private, non-profit distributor of food in the state. Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin distributes more than 13 million pounds of food annually to 1,100 food pantries, meal programs and shelters throughout eastern Wisconsin. Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin is a member of Feeding America, formerly named America’s Second Harvest, which is consistently ranked as one of the most efficient charities, out of the country’s 100 largest charities, by Forbes magazine. Since 1982, Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin has distributed more than 250 million pounds of food. To learn more about hunger in Wisconsin, visit www.feedingamericawi.org.
