More Than 1,300 Families to Have Thanksgiving Dinner with Turkey and All the Trimmings This Holiday

From UnitedHealth Group:

More Than 1,300 Families to Have Thanksgiving Dinner with Turkey and All the Trimmings This Holiday

• More than 1,300 turkeys and $26,000 collected at Foodshare’s Hartford “Turkey Tuesday” drive, hosted by Bank of America and UnitedHealthcare
• Foodshare to continue accepting turkeys and other food through Tuesday, Nov. 25, for in-need families in time for Thanksgiving

HARTFORD, Conn. (Nov. 18, 2014) — 

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UnitedHealthcare’s Ashley Hess (left) and Joseph Quattrochi (right) join Bank of America, Foodshare and UnitedHealthcare volunteers to collect turkey and other non-perishable foods to enable families to have a Thanksgiving dinner with all the holiday fixings. More than 1,300 turkeys and more than $26,000 were collected at Foodshare’s Hartford “Turkey Tuesday” drive, on November 18, hosted by Bank of America and UnitedHealthcare. (PHOTO: Alan Grant, Digital Creations)

More than 1,300 families in Hartford and Tolland counties will be able to sit down to Thanksgiving dinner thanks to the generosity of Hartford employers and residents who stopped by 185 Asylum St. this morning to drop off turkeys and other holiday food items, and donate money for additional meals.

Over the course of the four-hour food drive, hundreds of people dropped off turkeys, stuffing, cranberry sauce and other holiday food items. The food will be distributed to families in Hartford and Tolland counties who requested assistance in preparing their holiday meals.

“We want to thank everyone who donated food so in-need families could have a happier Thanksgiving, knowing they will be able to share a meal together,” said Gloria McAdam, president of Foodshare. “Each year, the number of families needing additional support around the holidays increases, and each year we continue to meet the demand because people understand the importance of the holidays and want to give.”

“Organizations like Foodshare make our community stronger by fighting back against hunger, one family and one meal at a time,” said Kevin Cunningham, Connecticut president, Bank of America. “Through the dedication of our volunteers and partners at Turkey Tuesday, hundreds of local families will get enough to eat for the Thanksgiving holiday.”

Foodshare will continue to collect and distribute food for Thanksgiving until Tuesday, Nov. 25. The food bank’s Bloomfield distribution center is accepting donations and has extend its hours of operation beginning Tuesday, Nov. 18. For more information on how to help, or for a list of food drop-off sites, visit www.aturkeyand30.org.

“UnitedHealthcare is grateful for the opportunity to support Foodshare this holiday season and help enable families in need to celebrate Thanksgiving with a delicious meal with all the trimmings,” said Craig LaFiandra of UnitedHealthcare. Nearly 20 UnitedHealthcare employee volunteers helped gather donations and load the Foodshare truck with turkeys and other food donations, and UnitedHealthcare conducted its own food drive among its more than 2,000 Hartford-based employees at its 185 Asylum St. office.

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(PHOTO: Alan Grant, Digital Creations)

About Foodshare
Foodshare is building a movement to solve hunger, bringing together individuals and organizations in all 42 towns of Hartford and Tolland counties. Foodshare does this in three key ways by:

• Increasing the amount of food available, to continue feeding our 128,000 hungry neighbors — including seniors, the working poor and 50,000 children. Foodshare distributes enough food to provide 12 million meals annually through our network of 300 local partners.
• Building self-sufficiency to reduce the number of people in need. In this way, we address the chronic underlying reasons why people are hungry. These stem from poverty, not just the immediate lack of food.
• Involving the entire community to increase their understanding of these real causes and solutions to hunger.  Our goal is to inspire community members to become personally involved in effective hunger solutions.

Since 1982, Foodshare has sought to end hunger in our region. Working in partnership with other community leaders such as the United Way, End Hunger Connecticut! and 211 Infoline, Foodshare has the experience and is building the networks necessary to help make this vision a reality. 

About Bank of America
Bank of America is one of the world’s largest financial institutions, serving individual consumers, small businesses, middle-market businesses and large corporations with a full range of banking, investing, asset management and other financial and risk management products and services. The company provides unmatched convenience in the United States, serving approximately 48 million consumer and small business relationships with approximately 4,900 retail banking offices and approximately 15,700 ATMs and award-winning online banking with 31 million active users and more than 16 million mobile users. Bank of America is among the world's leading wealth management companies and is a global leader in corporate and investment banking and trading across a broad range of asset classes, serving corporations, governments, institutions and individuals around the world. Bank of America offers industry-leading support to approximately 3 million small business owners through a suite of innovative, easy-to-use online products and services. The company serves clients through operations in more than 40 countries. Bank of America Corporation stock (NYSE: BAC) is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

About UnitedHealthcare
UnitedHealthcare is dedicated to helping people nationwide live healthier lives by simplifying the health care experience, meeting consumer health and wellness needs, and sustaining trusted relationships with care providers. The company offers the full spectrum of health benefit programs for individuals, employers, military service members, retirees and their families, and Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, and contracts directly with more than 800,000 physicians and care professionals, and 6,000 hospitals and other care facilities nationwide. Globally, UnitedHealthcare serves 45 million people in health benefits and is one of the businesses of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH), a diversified Fortune 50 health and well-being company. For more information, visit UnitedHealthcare at www.uhc.com or follow @myUHC on Twitter.