The Food Bank receives $1,000 Grant from Darden Foundation to distribute more healthy food to Western Mass.

The Food Bank is excited to announce that we have been selected by The Olive Garden in West Springfield to receive a $1,000 grant as part of the Restaurant Community Grants program from the Darden Restaurants Foundation, the charitable arm of Darden Restaurants. The annual grants program empowers each of the Olive Garden locations to help select a local community program to award the grant.

“We are truly grateful for The Darden Foundation’s support of our mission,” says Andrew Morehouse, Executive Director of The Food Bank. “This donation will enable us to distribute more healthy food to our neighbors in need.”

“We’re proud to be able to support The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts through our Restaurant Community Grants program,” said Stephanie Ghertner, Director of the Darden Foundation. “Our team members are incredibly passionate about getting involved in their local communities, and this program enables them to do just that.”

The Darden Restaurants, Inc. Foundation is the charitable arm of Darden Restaurants, Inc. Their mission is to maintain a spirit of service and community engagement as defining characteristics of Darden’s family of restaurants – Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Bahama Breeze, Seasons 52, The Capital Grille, Eddie V’s and Yard House. Since 1995, the Darden Foundation has awarded more than $71 million in grants to leading nonprofit organizations that align with its mission and community priorities: Recipe for Success^®, Preservation of Natural Resources and Good Neighbor grants. Through the Darden Harvest program, Darden Restaurants has also donated more than 77 million pounds of food to hunger relief agencies across the U.S. and Canada. In 2011, the Darden Foundation introduced the Restaurant Community Grants program that is dedicated to supporting local nonprofit organizations in the hundreds of communities where we live and serve. For more information, visit www.dardenfoundation.com.