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Woodforest Charitable Foundation donates $3,800 to Cleveland Foodbank

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CLEVELAND, OH – According to a landmark study released by Feeding America, over 85,000 children receive emergency food each year through the Cleveland Foodbank. A majority of these children rely on free and reduced-priced school lunch during the week but have no reliable source of food over the weekend or school holidays. In response to this issue, Woodforest Charitable Foundation’s recent donation of $3,800 will support the Foodbank’s Children’s Nutrition Initiative.

The Children’s Nutrition Initiative is comprised of three programs: BackPacks for Kids, Kids Cafés, and Summer Feeding Programs.

Through the BackPacks for Kids Program, Cleveland Foodbank provides children at risk of hunger with enough food for six complete meals to discreetly bring home in their backpacks for use over the weekend or school holidays. The Kids Café Program tackles childhood hunger by providing a daily hot meal and weekly nutrition education activities to at-risk youth each evening after school. The Foodbank’s Summer Feeding Program distributes daily meals to children during the summer months, when low-income parents struggle to provide their children with nutritious food when school is not in session.

“The need for emergency food is the highest we have ever witnessed in our thirty-one year history. Children now make up 34% of those we serve,” said Anne Goodman, President & CEO of Cleveland Foodbank. “We are so appreciative of Woodforest’s investment in Cleveland Foodbank’s Children’s Nutrition Initiative. Your grant will help us expand this critical program to provide more meals to local children in need.”

The mission of the Cleveland Foodbank is to alleviate hunger by providing food and support to community organizations that feed the hungry. In 2010, the Cleveland Foodbank distributed 32.9 million pounds of food to 618 hunger programs in six Northeast Ohio counties.

For more information about Cleveland Foodbank, please call (216) 738-2265 or visit www.clevelandfoodbank.org.

The Woodforest Charitable Foundation was created by Woodforest National Bank in 2005 as a direct result of its desire to support and invest in the communities in which it serves.  The Foundation is creating a legacy of commitment to those in need, enriching lives and communities through dedicated leadership and faithful administration by providing funding to qualifying 501(c)(3) charities.  For additional information regarding The Woodforest Charitable Foundation, call (832) 375-CARE (2273) or visit the Foundation’s website at www.woodforestcharitablefoundation.org.

Celebrating 30 years of service and ranked among the top earning banks in the United States, the Woodforest family of banks currently has assets of approximately $3.2 billion and services more than 850,000 customers with branches in excess of 750 throughout seventeen states:  Texas, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia.  For information about Woodforest National Bank, please call 832-375-2000 or visit the bank’s website at www.woodforest.com.