Andrew Schiff, executive director, Rhode Island Community Food Bank and Elizabeth B. Eckel, senior vice president, market and investor relations, Washington Trust, with the annual "PB Xpress" peanut butter donations.
Washington Trust's ninth annual "PB Xpress" peanut butter drive brought in 20,350 pounds, or 10 tons, of peanut butter to help local families served by the Rhode Island Community Food Bank and its member food pantries. Since the program began in 2001, the Bank has collected a total of 67 tons of peanut butter.
More than 97 businesses, schools, individuals and organizations collected peanut butter throughout the month of March for the drive. Radio station LiteRock 105's Tanya Cruise promoted the drive on-air during March and appeared at Washington Trust's Cranston branch on Saturday, April 4, for a "PB Xpress" drop off day. In addition, visits from Providence Bruins player, Jeff Lovecchio and mascot, "Samboni," and PawSox mascot "Paws," added to the festivities.
"Washington Trust is grateful to our fellow businesses, organizations and schools for helping us collect 10 tons of peanut butter," said Elizabeth B. Eckel, senior vice president, marketing and investor relations for Washington Trust. "The need is greater than ever in our current economic climate and we're pleased to do our part to help those in need."
"The peanut butter collected through this year's Washington Trust PB Xpress will help the Food Bank provide a much-needed source of protein to thousands of Rhode Islanders struggling to feed their families," commented Andrew Schiff, executive director of the Rhode Island Community Food Bank. "Protein is an important component of a nutritious diet, particularly for growing children, and can often be absent from the diets of low-income families," added Schiff.
Washington Trust recently received national recognition for its peanut butter drive by the American Bankers Association, and was awarded for its efforts in the "Reaching Out to the Underserved" category.
The Washington Trust Company is a subsidiary of Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc., a $2.9 billion corporation headquartered in Westerly, Rhode Island. Founded in 1800, Washington Trust is the oldest community bank in the nation and is the largest independent bank headquartered in Rhode Island. A state-chartered bank, Washington Trust offers a full range of financial services, including business banking, personal banking, and wealth management and trust services, through its offices located in Rhode Island, southeastern Connecticut and Massachusetts. The Corporation's common stock trades on The NASDAQ Stock Market under the symbol WASH. Web site address: www.washtrust.com.Corporation's common stock trades on The NASDAQ Stock Market under the symbol WASH. Web site address: www.washtrust.com.
The Rhode Island Community Food Bank is a non-profit organization located in Providence, R.I. The Food Bank solicits stores and distributes food products donated by supermarkets, wholesalers, food processors, local farmers and community food drives. The food is then distributed to the Food Bank's network of over 300 member agency programs. In the past fiscal year, the Food Bank distributed 8.4 million pounds of food. For more information about the Food Bank, please visit www.rifoodbank.org