Food bank partnership will feed 4,000 kids

SYRACUSE » Leonard Bus Sales is partnering with Food Bank of Central New York, and six other regional food banks, to help end child hunger and raise awareness of the importance of supporting local food banks throughout New York state.

Leonard Bus Sales, the region’s distributor of IC Bus and Trans Tech brand school buses, is supporting school-based backpack and food pantry programs that provide meals to children when they are not in school. The company will donate the equivalent of the average cost to feed one child over a weekend for each attendee at the New York Head Mechanics Association’s Summer Safety and Training Seminar, held at the Oncenter in Syracuse on July 13.

“Our company has been committed to providing safe school buses to protect children for over 50 years,” said Leonard Bus Sales Vice President Jon Leonard. “Partnering with regional food banks to provide meals for kids in need is just an extension of our commitment.”

“Food Bank of Central New York is pleased to partner with Leonard Bus Sales to help raise awareness and funds to end child hunger in New York state,” said Kathleen Stress, executive director, Food Bank of Central New York. “In our 11-county service area, we partner with school districts on Summer Food Service Programs and schoolbased food pantries.

This allows us to provide the components for nutritious meals for children, their siblings and parents while the child is not in school.”

Instead of spending money on promotional giveaways at industry conferences and events, Leonard Bus Sales decided to establish partnerships with local food banks and allocate those resources to helping hungry children. The company is partnering with seven regional food banks across New York state to support school-based backpack and food pantry programs servicing 57 counties.

“Leonard Bus Sales has committed to donating one backpack per event attendee for each of the events it attends,” said Leonard. “The seven participating food banks will be provided a proportionate share of the meals donated based on the number of children they serve.”

In the 57 counties in New York served by the program, approximately 22,000 children per week benefit from these programs -- Leonard Bus Sales will be helping feed approximately 4,000 children per year.

“In addition to providing meals for children in need, we hope to raise awareness at each event and raise additional money for local food banks,” Leonard said.

Established by Feeding America (feedingamerica. org), the national Backpack program provides meals to more than 450,000 children in need during the time they are not at school. The food is usually discreetly distributed at the end of the school day, and given to children as they leave for the weekend or vacation.

To learn more about school-based hunger program or to find regional food banks in your area, visit feedingamerica.org.

SUBMITTED PHOTO From left, Jourdan Pignatelli, Sales & Marketing Coordinator for Leonard Bus Sales, Alissa Tubbs, Food Bank of Central New York Agency Relations Manager and Chris Smith, Food Bank of Central New York Agency Relations Coordinator, at the Food Bank of...