For Immediate Release s440

For Immediate Release

October 22, 2013

Rockland Community Foundation Once Again Partners with Inserra Supermarkets to Provide $5,000 in Support to Rockland Food Pantries

ROCKLAND COUNTY, NEW YORK – The Rockland Community Foundation is pleased to announce the recipients of its seventh annual Food Pantry awards. Given in conjunction with a matching grant from Inserra Supermarkets, the awards were presented at the Foundation's Board meeting on October 16th to the following ten food pantries across Rockland County:

· Catholic Community Services of Rockland

· Head Start of Rockland

· Martin Luther KIng Multi-Purpose Center

· Meals on Wheels

· People to People

· Rockland Independent Living Center

· Rockland Interfaith Breakfast Center

· Sloatsburg UMC Food Pantry

· TOUCH (Together Our Unity Can Heal)

· West Street Child Care Learning Center

Each food pantry received $500 in ShopRite gift cards, for a total of $5,000.

"The statistics on hunger in a county such as Rockland are staggering," explains Rockland Community Foundation President Pat Byrne. "The Rockland Community Foundation is pleased to be partnering with Inserra Supermarkets for the seventh straight year, matching their grant gift dollar for dollar. We are grateful for their on-going support of such a worthwhile cause.”

Over 35,000 Rockland residents are food insecure, with one in five children in our county at the poverty level. Over the past two years, there has been a 46% increase in the amount of Rocklanders who have applied for supplemental nourishment and assistance programs. Food pantry programs in our county support not only those families in need, but also the homebound elderly, and those living with chronic illness.

Please consider making a donation to the Foundation's Health and Human Services Fund, which funds support for food pantries in our county. Go to rocklandgives.org/donationspage

to donate online, or mail your donation to PO Box 323, New City NY 10954. Donations to the fund are fully tax-deductible and remain in our county to support those of our friends and neighbors in need.

About the Rockland Community Foundation

The Rockland Community Foundation is committed to improving the quality of life for all people in Rockland County by increasing charitable giving. Its mission is to connect people and businesses with the causes that matter most to them through the creation of funds, across a wide range of interests, that donors create and the Foundation stewards. A registered, tax-exempt 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation, it is governed by a local Board of Directors and an Advisory Board comprised of community leaders from both public and private sectors.

Community foundations put philanthropy within reach, offering the ability to establish funds that will continue to give for years to come, with tax benefits that donors can take advantage of now. Most importantly, the funds stay in the community, which means donors will see the impact of their contributions in the place they call home.

If you are interested in creating a fund and would like more information, or would like to donate to one of our many funds, visit rocklandgives.org.

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The Rockland Community Foundation

P.O. Box 323, New City, NY 10956

845-947-2868