Ingevity sponsors full year of Lowcountry Food Bank Fresh for All Events
October 11, 2017
The Lowcountry Food Bank (LCFB) announced that Ingevity will sponsor 12 monthly LCFB Fresh for All events, with $42,000 in financial support. The first Ingevity Fresh for All to serve the community took place Tuesday, October 10 at the Arthur Christopher Community Center, 265 Fishburne Street, in downtown Charleston. Ingevity employees have also committed to volunteer at the 12 Fresh for All events which gives them the opportunity to personally serve their community neighbors who face hunger.
“We are pleased that Ingevity is now our partner in the fight to relieve hunger in the Lowcountry,” said Pat Walker, Lowcountry Food Bank President and CEO. “Their generous commitment to fund and staff monthly Fresh for All events will ensure that food-insecure children, families and adults have access to nutritious and delicious produce.”
Many low-income children and their families throughout the Charleston area struggle with devastating consequences associated with food insecurity and malnutrition due to the lack of access to healthy food, especially fresh produce. To overcome barriers that residents in underserved communities face, such as a lack of transportation, high food costs and food deserts, LCFB works with its corporate partners, such as Ingevity, to conduct Fresh for All distributions and provide outreach to the community. Fresh for All events are farmers’ market style distributions, which feature a variety of fresh produce choices that empower food-insecure families to choose, at no-cost, the type and quantity of produce that meets their family’s needs.
Each family selects about 40 pounds of fresh produce. Since poor nutrition can be the result of a lack of education about healthy eating and how to prepare produce, the LCFB also offers food sampling and recipes at each Fresh for All event along with informational flyers for families to take home that include produce selection, preparation and storage tips.
In addition to providing food to fight hunger among food-insecure residents at-large, the LCFB continues to develop targeted food assistance programs to alleviate hunger among children and seniors, two especially vulnerable populations. In 2016, the LCFB partnered with more than 300 food pantries, soup kitchens, after-school programs, low-income senior centers and shelters to distribute 26.2 million pounds of food, of which 25% was fresh produce, to more than 200,000 food-insecure children, seniors and adults.
“The Lowcountry Food Bank has been a cornerstone of the Charleston area for many years,” said Michael Wilson, President and Chief Executive Officer, Ingevity. “This unique partnership will allow us to provide fresh produce to our neighbors in need while helping to positively influence the community around us.”
About the Lowcountry Food Bank: Feed. Advocate. Empower.
The Lowcountry Food Bank serves the 10 coastal counties of South Carolina and distributed more than 26 million pounds of food in 2016. The Lowcountry Food Bank is a clearinghouse for donated food products that are distributed to a network of nearly 300 member agencies including soup kitchens, homeless shelters and emergency food pantries. The Lowcountry Food Bank is a member of Feeding America and is committed to educating the public about the problems of and solutions to domestic hunger as well as advocating on the behalf of the hungry in our community. For more information go to www.lowcountryfoodbank.org
About Ingevity: Purify, Protect and Enhance
Ingevity provides specialty chemicals and high-performance carbon materials and technologies that help customers solve complex problems. These products are used in a variety of demanding applications, including asphalt paving, oil exploration and production, agrochemicals, adhesives, lubricants, printing inks and automotive components that reduce gasoline vapor emissions. Through a team of talented and experienced people, Ingevity develops, manufactures and brings to market products and processes that purify protect and enhance the world around us. Headquartered in North Charleston, S.C., Ingevity operates from 25 locations around the world and employs approximately 1,500 people. The company is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: NGVT). For more information go to http://www.ingevity.com
