Witkos & LeGeyt Roll Up Their Sleeves to Fight Hunger, Raise Awareness

Canton – Senator Kevin Witkos and Representative Tim LeGeyt recently rolled up their sleeves to bag groceries at the “Help Bag Hunger” event at the Canton ShopRite on Tuesday, September 27th. The event, hosted by the local supermarket owned by Joseph Family Markets, was held to raise awareness and funds for local organizations fighting hunger in honor of National Hunger Action Month.

For the fourth year in a row, Sen. Witkos and Rep. LeGeyt joined community leaders and store employees bagging and collecting donations to support local food banks and bring attention to the widespread issue of hunger across our state.

“In Connecticut, one in eight people struggle with hunger every day. That number is heartbreaking,” said Sen. Witkos. “Events like ‘Help Bag Hunger’ are important steps in the fight against hunger. Joseph Family Markets always goes above and beyond to do all they can to make sure people in our community have the food they need to feed their families. This event was a great way for everyone to get together and raise awareness and funding to make a difference. Thank you to all who participated and donated to this important cause.”

“I look forward each year to participating in this great event that seeks to raise awareness about the ongoing battle against hunger,” said Rep. LeGeyt. “With such a significant number of households and individuals struggling to afford food, we must do all we can to provide help and resources to the neediest among us, and that includes raising awareness. Joseph Family Markets and ShopRite are strong leaders in this campaign and in supporting our community in the battle against hunger.”

Throughout the day, cashiers collected donations to help fill the shelves of local food banks and bring attention to hunger in the local community. In total, Joseph Family Markets raised over $23,500 from generous shopper donations. Contributions will go to support local food banks through Foodshare. Each dollar donated buys one pound of food for Community Avon, Inc., Gifts of Love, the ARC of the Farmington Valley or Canton Food Bank.

The ShopRites of Canton and West Hartford are owned and operated by Joseph Family Markets, a locally-owned business founded in 2010 by Chuck and Debbie Joseph. Since 2010, Joseph Family Markets has raised over $174,000 for the local fight against hunger.

“Help Bag Hunger” is part of the ShopRite’s year-round Partners in Caring Program, which has provided more than $27 million to homeless and hunger relief and other charitable agencies since it was launched in 1999, according to the company website. This was the sixth year that the ShopRite Canton location has participated in the initiative.

PHOTO: Sen. Witkos (left) and Rep. LeGeyt (right) join ShopRite store manager Mark Flynn (center) in Canton at the annual “Help Bag Hunger” event.