Washington Trust Employees Collect 3,000 Pounds of Peanut Butter to Kick Off 20th Annual Peanut Butter Drive
March 02, 2020
WESTERLY, RI – March 2, 2020 - The Washington Trust Company officially kicked off its 20th annual Peanut Butter Drive with more than 3,000 pounds of peanut butter collected at an employee appreciation event Thursday evening. The annual drive, which runs through the end of April, benefits the Rhode Island Community Food Bank and local food pantries across Rhode Island and Southeastern Connecticut. Washington Trust has collected 130 tons of peanut butter since the drive began in 2001. That is enough peanut butter to make more than 4 million peanut butter sandwiches!
According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), 11 percent of Rhode Islanders (47,700 households) are food insecure, meaning they are often unsure where their next meal will come from due to a lack of resources. The Peanut Butter Drive helps to fill that need. Peanut butter, which can be expensive for families, is a versatile superfood with a long shelf life and more than 30 essential vitamins and nutrients. One jar can make 16 sandwiches for a hungry family.
People can support the Washington Trust Peanut Butter Drive by dropping off a jar of peanut butter to any Washington Trust branch or office location. People can also visit peanutbutterbank.com to make an online donation to the Rhode Island Community Food Bank. A $5 donation helps the food bank buy five jars of peanut butter. Additionally, Washington Trust will be collecting peanut butter at a free Community Shred Event on Saturday, March 28th from 10am to 1pm at various Washington Trust branch locations. Visit washtrust.com/Shred for details. Please help us ‘Spread the Word’ about this year’s drive to support our neighbors in need!
ABOUT WASHINGTON TRUST®
Founded in 1800, Washington Trust is the oldest community bank in the nation and one of the Northeast’s premier financial services companies. Washington Trust offers a full range of financial services, including commercial banking, mortgage banking, personal banking and wealth management and trust services through its offices located in Rhode Island, Connecticut and Massachusetts. The Washington Trust Company is a subsidiary of Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc., (NASDAQ: WASH). Additional information on Washington Trust and its subsidiaries can be found at https://www.washtrust.com/.