Brattleboro, Vermont – On the morning of Friday November 4th, Project Feed the Thousands Campaign will kick off its 22nd annual food drive. The launch will take place at Brattleboro’s Price Chopper Supermarket on Canal Street, in the morning with a live broadcast hosted by longtime media supporter, WTSA 96.7 FM followed up by and afternoon launch at Brattleboro Food Cooperative in downtown Brattleboro, hosted by another generous media supporter, WYRY 104.9 FM.
“The community goal this year is to raise $90,000 in cash, as well as to collect enough provisions for 200,000 meals.” Reports Jeff Morse, Project Co-Chair and President of River Valley Credit Union. Various businesses and individuals, in conjunction with Project Feed the Thousands, will be accepting non-perishable food, personal care items and cash donations. All campaign contributions will then be distributed to many area food shelves to help thousands of people who struggle with hunger throughout southeastern Vermont and southwestern New Hampshire.
“Project Feed is this region’s largest community food drive,” states Project Co-Chair Kelli Corbeil and owner of WTSA Radio, “but even with a growing list of corporate donors, participating schools, and individual donations large and small, achieving our goal again this year will be challenging.”
Josh Davis, of Groundworks Collaborative states, “This cash and food drive is imperative to our community food shelves, we rely on it! All of the food shelves in our region are struggling and when the cold season comes, the need is enormous. We could not possibly feed all the individuals we see if it wasn’t for Project Feed the Thousands.”
Project Feed was started in 1994 by Larry Smith, then of WTSA Radio, and George Haynes, formerly President of Brattleboro Savings & Loan. Co-founding the campaign, Smith & Haynes emphasized the importance of helping less fortunate families in the community. To achieve this goal, Smith & Haynes enlisted neighbors and friends to start a food drive specifically designed to alleviate hunger in Brattleboro and surrounding towns. At that time, the goal was to fill a single tractor trailer with food, feeding an estimated 1,000 local individuals in need.
In its 22 year history since then, the Project Feed Campaign has grown in both size and scope. As a result of this growth, the campaign now includes all of Windham County, as well as Southwestern New Hampshire. Not only has Project Feed raised hundreds of thousands of dollars to purchase and distribute food and personal care items, but it has also filled hundreds of truckloads of actual food to be distributed to the area food shelves.
This campaign has nourished countless individuals and families with food and supplies to alleviate the most basic human need of having enough food to put on the table for each meal. The food and supplies distributed through this campaign include cereal, juices, peanut butter, canned foods, soups, crackers and many other non perishable foods, as well as personal hygiene items such shampoo, deodorant, toothbrushes and soap.
Project Feed has built awareness of how our neighbors and friends, including many families with children, struggle with hunger issues in our community. Mark Speno, the principal of Green Street Elementary School, states, “The campaign has been a valuable educational tool in teaching school-aged children about the meaning of compassion and caring for others. In doing so, Project Feed has shown children, teens, young adults and the rest of the community how to take action in the struggle to end hunger.”
In organizing this campaign, the coordinators all acknowledge how Project Feed brings together people from all walks of life in order to address the common concern of hunger. In doing so, everyone involved with the campaign can celebrate the fibers that sew this amazing community together, reminding us all of the spirit of empathy.
Monetary contributions may be sent to: Project Feed, c/o River Valley Credit Union, P.O. Box 8366, 820 Putney Rd., Brattleboro, VT 05304.
Non-perishable food and personal care items may be donated at the Brattleboro Food Co-op, Brattleboro’s Hannaford and Price Chopper locations, St. Michael’s Church on Walnut St. in Brattleboro, all River Valley Credit Union locations and all Brattleboro, Vernon and Guilford schools. Donations are also received outside of Brattleboro at River Bend Farm Market in Townshend, Shaw’s in Walpole and Wilmington, Walmart in Hinsdale, the Hinsdale schools, and a long list of other churches and local drop-off points. For a complete list of locations and upcoming events, please visit Feedthethousands.org.
