Hannaford donates $250,000 to support families and children impacted by COVID-19 throughout New England and New York

Details:

• $50,000 to Albany Community Action Partnership, which will use the funding to support the purchase of a new emergency food distribution van. The van will increase access to fresh and healthy food for families who are unable to leave their homes throughout Albany County. Anticipated to begin operations in mid-September, the van will deliver meals and produce directly to the homes of more than 50 families each month or approximately 300 families through December 2020. 

• $50,000 to Schenectady Community Action Program, which will use the funding to provide approximately 120 low-income families, including 450 children, in Schenectady County with financial assistance for emergency, immediate and long-term needs, including rent and mortgage relief; childcare access; health and safety-related home repairs; utility assistance; and transportation.

• $25,000 to Penquis Community Action Program, which will use the funding to provide food for families, clothing for children, needed household and personal care items, and supplies to help children learn whether at home or in the classroom. Funds also assist with the purchase of technology, including computers, tablets, and internet service, to combat isolation and increase access to health care, education, and peer support services. The agency expects to serve more than 200 families as a result of the donation from Hannaford.

• $25,000 to York Community Action Corporation, which will use the funding to provide “Outreach Services” for families and children who are in immediate crisis or need as a result of the pandemic. Triaged care varies from helping a newly unemployed parent who lost health insurance with medical care or prescriptions to helping an employed parent with assistance for car repairs, clothing and school supplies for children, gift cards for families who have run out of food. The agency expects to serve approximately 300 families as a result of the donation from Hannaford. 

• $25,000 to Southern New Hampshire Services, which will use the funding to support its “Whole Family Approach,” which is designed to break the cycle of generational poverty by increasing access to health care, education and job opportunities for families. The agency expects to serve approximately 500 southern New Hampshire families as a result of the donation. 

• $25,000 to Community Action Program Belknap-Merrimack Counties, which will also utilize the funding to implement the “Whole Family Approach,” which provides coaching for families on issues related to workforce development, financial literacy, social health determinants and social capital to support long-term economic mobility. The agency expects to serve up to 500 central New Hampshire families as a result of the donation. 

• $15,000 to Worcester Community Action Council to support the agency’s Virtual Food Pantry, which is designed to serve as a socially-distant alternative to the traditional food pantry and distributes gift cards and digital certificates to families for purchasing quality food and other necessities. The program also provides families with gas cards and taxi vouchers to eliminate transportation barriers during a period of reduced public transportation due to the pandemic. The donation will serve approximately 250 families.

• $15,000 to Community Teamwork in Lowell, which will use the funding to provide safe childcare options to low-income households and essential workers during the pandemic. The grant will also enable the agency to address food insecurity by increasing access to healthy food and basic necessities such as diapers, wipes and cleaning materials for more than 250 families throughout the Lowell area. 

• $10,000 to Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity, which will use the funding to provide financial assistance to families for a broad range of issues, including costs associated with purchasing work-appropriate clothing; obtaining birth certificates needed to complete housing applications; and health and safety-related house maintenance, such as furnace cleaning. The donation is expected to help approximately 30 Burlington-area families. 

• $10,000 to BROC Community Action in Southwestern Vermont, which will use the funding to address housing challenges resulting from the pandemic, including relocating newly homeless families to permanent affordable housing. The donation will also be used to support the agency’s food shelves in Rutland and Bennington which have experienced a spike in demand since mid-March, resulting in a 40 percent increase in the number of people served in Rutland. Additionally, the Bennington food shelf is now open five days a week as opposed to only two prior to the pandemic.