National Life Group Foundation Donates $30,000 to Vermont Foodbank
Charitable Grant Supports Youth Food Programs, Including Backpack Program
Montpelier, Vermont – A $30,000 grant from the National Life Group Foundation will benefit youth food programs of the Vermont Foodbank.
National Life CEO Mehran Assadi, left, and Chairman Thomas MacLeay, right, present a check to Vermont Foodbank CEO John Sayles.
The grant will help to support the Backpack program, in which children are given backpacks filled with nutritious, tasty food to take home on weekends when they and their family might otherwise go hungry.
Additionally, it will help fund the Foodbank’s VeggieVanGo Schools Program, which gets fresh fruits and vegetables into some of the Backpack schools. The Backpack program serves 27 schools and 1,250 children with 120,000 pounds of packaged food. The VeggieVanGo program distributes 224,000 pounds of fresh food to 900 students and their families in 17 schools.
“This is a grant that invests in proven programs serving a well-identified need,” said Thomas MacLeay, chairman of the National Life Foundation board. “National Life has supported the Vermont Foodbank for many years and we’re proud that we can help address childhood hunger with such a great partner.”
National Life Group has also once again signed on to be the presenting sponsor of this summer’s Harpoon Point to Point Presented by National Life Group, an annual bicycle fundraising ride. Last year, the event raised $210,000 for the Foodbank’s programs. Registration for this year’s ride just opened. It will take place on Aug. 12 at the Harpoon brewery in Windsor.
National Life has a long history of supporting the Vermont Foodbank stretching back 30 years, including with financial contributions, sponsorships, and volunteering.