Press Releases
EJP HOMES MAKES CONTRIBUTION TO REGIONAL FOOD BANK CAPITAL
CAMPAIGN
LATHAM, N.Y. — The Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York
announces that EJP, Inc. has donated $5,000 towards the Food Bank’s capital
campaign to expand its warehouse in Latham.
“The Regional Food Bank thanks EJP
Homes for their generous support and leadership gift; they have helped make
our expansion project a reality. Requests for food have increased significantly
and because we do not have space, about 25,000 pounds of nutritious food is
being destroyed every week instead of feeding hungry families. Our new warehouse
will help address this challenge,” said Mark Quandt, executive director of
the Regional Food Bank.
EJP, Inc. is a leading developer
of highly sought custom home communities in Rensselaer County.
The Regional
Food Bank recently launched a capital campaign to raise $3 million for an
18,000-square-foot expansion of its main warehouse in Latham. To date it has
raised $2 million toward its goal. The Regional Food Bank serves more than
900 charitable programs in 23 counties from the Canadian border to the New
Jersey border. Requests for food from member programs have increased 100 percent
since 1993 and the food industry is donating more food than ever before. "Having food on the table is a basic need
for every family as is housing, we want to ensure that all New Yorkers have
nutritious food," said Edward J. Patanian, president of EJP. "The
Regional Food Bank is committed to alleviating hunger for those in need."
"Many individuals throughout
the region are faced with a difficult choice — purchasing food or paying
for housing or heat", said Mr. Patanian. "The work of the Regional
Food Bank makes it easier for those in need to survive."
The Regional Food Bank is in the
process of expanding its warehouse by 50 percent; expanding its refrigerated
space by 500 percent; automating its packing operations; adding seven new loading docks; replacing aging
vehicles; and upgrading equipment.
In addition, the planned improvement
will extend shelf life and decrease spoilage of perishable food, eliminate
the need for off-site storage and streamline storage and handling operations.
It will also allow the Food Bank to improve staff productivity, increase efficiency
of shipping and receiving operations, and relieve congestion in loading areas.
The expansion will include a training kitchen for educational programs in
nutrition, meal preparation, food safety and technical assistance to the agencies
it serves.
Completion of the project, set for this fall, will
provide the Regional Food Bank with the capacity to accept and distribute
as much as 50 percent more food to those in need. Currently it distributes
18 million pounds of food a year, according to Mr. Quandt.
The Regional Food Bank currently
provides food assistance to more than 900 charitable agencies serving hungry
and disadvantaged people, including food pantries, soup kitchens, emergency
shelters, senior programs, day care centers, residential programs and others.
Nearly 20 percent of New York’s families live in or near poverty, with almost
half of those receiving emergency food assistance being children under the
age of 18.
More than 250 local and national
companies donate product, including retailers and wholesalers; processors
and manufacturers; food brokers; farmers; and, canners and packers. They donate
for a variety of reasons including mislabeling, overproduction, discontinuation
of a product line, shipping errors, production flaws, cosmetic damages, and
unharvested or over-ripe fruit.
For more information about the Food Bank and its capital campaign, please call
518-786-3691 or visit www.regionalfoodbank.net.
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