BARRE – The Chittenden Bank made an unrestricted corporate gift of $30,000 to the Vermont Foodbank on Thursday.

"The Chittenden initiated the conversation," said Christine Foster, who shares the foodbank's position of interim chief executive officer. "It's just incredible! They have had a huge interest and commitment to help from the very beginning of our conversation."

The Vermont Foodbank, the state's largest hunger relief organization, acquires food from many sources and makes it available to a network of 270 local food shelves, senior centers, soup kitchens, shelters and after-school programs. Last year it helped more than 66,000 Vermonters in need of food assistance.

Foster noted that the bank also started a three-month food drive on Oct. 1 that involves all 47 of its branch offices throughout the state.

"That food is staying within the communities – it's going right to the local food shelves," she said.

"This beautiful gift couldn't come at a better time," Foster added. "Here we are heading into the winter months with increased need." The food bank's network of agencies is reporting that demand for food is up as much as 30 percent.

Foster said that every dollar given to the food bank enables it to acquire and distribute about three pounds of food, so the gift will allow the food bank to make 90,000 pounds of food available to Vermonters. "That's a lot of food," she said, noting that the organization distributed about six and a half million pounds of food last year.

Explaining how the decision to make the gift was made, Gayle McKinnon-Alexander, the community service coordinator for the Chittenden Bank, said the bank had some money to donate and said, 'Where can we best put it?'

"We looked at food and fuel, the two big items in the coming months. We're making this donation, and we're making donations to the crisis fuel programs across the state," she said.

The Chittenden Bank is a partner in the state's Food and Fuel Partnership, and Gov. James Douglas and several state lawmakers were on hand for a check-presentation ceremony Thursday.

McKinnon-Alexander noted that for a single-year donation, a $30,000 gift is large. The bank does make larger gifts, but they are typically for bricks-and-mortar projects and capital campaigns.

Foster characterized the donation as "a very significant gift, especially from a business, and a very sizeable investment in the Vermont Foodbank. We look at it as if the Chittenden is investing in the food."