Newtown Savings Bank A Major Reason For Successful Food Drive—

Local Businesses Collect 5,000-Plus Pounds Of Food For Those In Need

DANBURY — Those living at or below the poverty level in greater Danbury and New Milford often do not know when their next meal may be. And the economic downturn has resulted in more in our area struggling to make ends meet. Many who have never had to consider community support are turning to food pantries as a source to feed their family. So it is not surprising that during the first half of 2009 alone, the Salvation Army Food Pantry saw an increase of almost 700 people in need of services compared to same period last year — and 200 of those served were first-time clients.

To address an ongoing need and to help offset the dramatic increase in requests for food assistance in the greater Danbury and New Milford areas, the United Way of Western Connecticut recently sponsored its annual Food Drive in conjunction with its annual Days of Caring. As a result, 5,231 pounds of food was collected at 43 sites throughout greater Danbury and New Milford and distributed to Salvation Army’s Food Pantry and the New Milford Food Pantry.

“In an economic environment where you might expect donations of food to be down, we actually saw an increase of 26 percent compared with last year,” said Duracell employee Dan DeLacey, who co-chaired the Food Drive Planning Committee along with Beth Fisher of Pitney Bowes. “Our community is extremely giving, not only on an individual level, but on a corporate level as well. There are many local companies that encourage participation in this drive, and their employees and customers really take it to heart — as reflected in the donations.”

One such company, Newtown Savings Bank, is a regular participant in the Days of Caring Food Drive. NSB this year collected more than half of this year’s total by making collection bins available at its main office and branch locations. Other companies that contributed to the success of this year’s food drive were Duracell, Boehringer Ingelheim, Caraluzzi’s, Cartus, Union Savings Bank, MannKind Corporation, and Goodrich.