Grand Re-Opening Event a Success!

More than 200 people joined us at Foodshare last night to celebrate the complete of our building expansion project and rededicate both the facilities and ourselves to the cause of fighting hunger.  Lieutenant Governor Nancy Wyman is the Honorary Chair of the "Bridging the Gap" campaign and delivered the inspirational opening remarks.

We were thrilled to have our brand new Mobile Foodsharetruck on display and to honor the Chase Family Foundations who made this new truck possible.  For more than 20 years, the Chase Family have been vigorous and generous supporters of Foodshare. Arnold Chase served on the Foodshare Board of Directors in the 90s, and Cheryl Chase has served as a Director and now an honorary Director for 15 years.  The Chase family support extends beyond their involvement at the Board level.  They host the Chase Challenge at our annual Walk Against Hunger and donated one of our Mobile Foodshare trucks, which brings fresh fruits, vegetables, and other nutritious perishables directly to people in need in their own neighborhoods. 

Now, for our Bridging the Gap campaign, the Chase Family Foundations have generously donated a new Mobile Foodshare truck, as one of our older ones was at the end of its useful life. The new truck will not only be more reliable, but also more sophisticated. It has multiple refrigeration chambers so that produce can be kept at the ideal temperature with less waste. Nothing makes our drivers happier than being able to deliver more and better food. We were pleased to be able to display and dedicate this new truck.

Honorary Director David Urbanik reads
Cheryl Chase's remarks to a full house.

Although the Chase’s could not be with us, due to a family emergency, Cheryl Chase sent some remarks, which included, “It is our honor to support this campaign and the expanding work of Foodshare. Foodshare over the years has shown itself to be a remarkably responsible organization. Its plans are carefully laid and diligently followed through. Moreover, you make a demonstrable difference in addressing the problem. We consider a donation to Foodshare an investment in our community. It’s an investment that has demonstrated impact and large returns. And it an investment that we are happy to make. The Mobile Foodshare program is a case in point. Foodshare saw a problem—the nature of the food bank system was too slow to allow for much produce or the nutrition it offered—and came up with a solution: convert a beverage truck to carry fruits and vegetables quickly and directly from market to neighborhood distribution points.  The Mobile Foodshare program last year delivered enough food, mostly produce, for 3 million meals. They served 67 sites across the area and, most important, provided essential nutrition to children, seniors, families, and individuals. And those numbers are growing each year. We know this truck will make an enormous difference in the lives of many, many people, and we’re proud to have helped make it happen.”

We also recognized the members of the Campaign Cabinet, who have been busy raising the funds needed for this expansion, including Honorary Chair Lieutenant Governor Nancy Wyman; Chair John Patrick, CEO of Farmington Bank; Craig Anderson, United Health Care; Beth Bombara, The Hartford; Tom Buckingham, Phoenix Companies; Mary Kate Cox, University of Saint Joseph; Joe Gianni, Bank of America; David Urbanik, Halloran & Sage, and longtime Foodshare supporters Linda Martyn, Chris Rohrs, Paul Fraleigh, and Kitty Jo Reynolds.. These people, along with the Board and other volunteers and staff, have been working very hard over the last year on this campaign.

Finally, campaign donors of $50,000 or more were invited forward to help cut the ribbons:

·         AE Design Group, the architects for this beautiful new space, represented by Joe Eddy, principal architect

·         Connecticut Light and Power Company represented by Joe Luchini, the Vice President of Electric Systems Operations

·         Farmington Bank, represented by John Patrick, President

·         The Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, represented by Ed Forand, chair of the board of directors

·         Foodshare Board of Directors, represented by Greg Garger

·         Honorary and Former Foodshare Board of Directors, represented by Craig Anderson and David Urbanik

·         Foodshare staff, who collectively donated more than $50,000 to the campaign, represented by Eric Coleman and Mark Cherrington

Six other donors at this level could not be with us but were also recognized:  the Budd Family at the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving; the Cheryl Chase and Stuart Bear Family Foundation; the Rhoda and David Chase Family Foundation; the Sandra and Arnold Chase Family Foundation; Stop and Shop’s Our Family Foundation; and the Beatrice Fox Auerbach Foundation Fund at the Hartford Center for Public Giving.

Thank you to all of the donors who have made this work possible and to everyone who attended last evening.  As the Chair of the Foodshare Board of Directors, Greg Garger, said, “You are all groundbreakers, at the forefront of the movement to end hunger, and essential to our success. As you’ll hear tonight, this building is not the end of our campaign, but the beginning of it—the launch pad for a much bigger community effort.”

We hope you will all be with us the rest of the way, for “When hunger stops, so will we!”