Eastern donates food, money to Rochester End 68 Hours of Hunger

Entirely volunteer-based, with the exception of a part-time Executive Director, End 68 Hours of Hunger ensures that nearly 100 percent of donations go directly toward feeding at-risk children. (Courtesy photo)

ROCHESTER - Eastern Propane & Oil on Tuesday presented End 68 Hours of Hunger Rochester with a large food donation and financial contribution of $1,550 to help feed children in need.

End 68 Hours of Hunger is a public not-for-profit organization committed to addressing the approximately 68-hour period of hunger some school children face between their last school lunch on Friday and their first school breakfast on Monday. Since its establishment in New Hampshire in 2011, this weekend program has provided nourishing food to school children, ensuring they have sustenance throughout the weekend.

Entirely volunteer-based, with the exception of a part-time Executive Director, End 68 Hours of Hunger ensures that nearly 100 percent of donations go directly toward feeding at-risk children.

According to Penney Mabey of Eastern, the company is committed to helping and participating in activities that help others, such as local charities, community events, and industry organizations.

"In October, we sent an email to our customers saying that anyone that schedules a delivery before November 18th, Eastern will donate $10 to End 68 Hours of Hunger," said Mabey. "Almost immediately, 250 customers placed orders."

According to program Co-coordinator Jackie Fitzpatrick, it's because of contributions like this that End 68 Hours of Hunger has been able to make a significant impact on addressing food insecurity for children in Rochester.

"We are so grateful to Eastern and Eastern customers for making this incredible contribution to our efforts," said Fitzpatrick. "It moves me to tears to think of the impact this will make in the lives of the children we serve. We will put these contributions to good use."

According to the End 68 Hours of Hunger website, by providing nourishing food to children, many behaviors associated with food insecurity disappear, and students arrive at school on Mondays ready to learn. Teachers have reported increased responsibility and improved performance among the children, with documented improvements in reading and math scores.

The organization is still in need of a variety of items, including individual plastic containers of Jelly, single-serve containers of cereal, bagged or packaged Ramen Noodles (not cups), Hormel Compleats, Chunky or Progresso Hearty Soup (with meat), Spaghetti Sauce, Pop-Tarts (6 per box), and various snacks (Fruit Rolls, Crackers & Cheese, Rice Krispie Treats, etc).

For more information about End 68 Hours of Hunger and how to get involved, visit www.end68hoursofhunger.org. Anyone wanting to donate food to the Rochester chapter is encouraged to visit their Amazon wishlist. Other programs and their wish lists may be accessed through the website's "Find your Community" link.