Twenty-six tractor-trailers are making the trip from Rocky Hill to Bloomfield this morning to bring food donations to a local organization that battles hunger in Connecticut.
The trucks will be making the 21-mile trip to the Foodshare distribution center, which uses the donations to help more than 120,000 people in 42 towns of Hartford and Tolland counties.
This is the 12th annual Foodshare Convoy of Caring.
“Since the recession, we’ve seen a huge increase in people needing help -- a 30 percent increase in demand -- and it started to level off a little bit. And the reality is, the people we serve were the first ones to be hit by a poor economy and they’ll be the last ones to recover,” Gloria McAdam. president and CEO Foodshare, said.
Foodshare representatives said 80 percent of the food they distribute comes directly from the food industry, which makes $21 million in in-kind donations each year.
Companies participating in the 21-mile drive include Bakery On Main, Bimbo Bakeries, Bozzuto's, Burris Logistics, C&S Wholesale, Domino's Pizza, The Farmer's Cow, Freshpoint, Frito Lay, Geissler's, Guida Dairy, HPC Foodservice, M&M Produce, Ocean State Job Lot, Panera Bread, Pepsi Beverages Co., Price Chopper, Price Rite, Sam's Club, Sardilli's Produce, ShopRite, Stop & Shop, Thurston Foods, Sysco, and Walmart.
The trucks are scheduled to arrive at Foodshare at 9:30 a.m.
