Food bank awarded $5,000 to support Niles school

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

Second Harvest Food Bank of the Mahoning Valley was awarded $5,000 to support the Niles BackPack Program the upcoming school year.

Feeding America, of which Second Harvest is a member, conducts the program nationwide to meet the needs of children who lack other resources for food.

The Senator Maurice and Florence Lipscher Charitable Trust awarded the money to the food bank, 2805 Salt Springs Road.

In a statement, Michael Iberis, food bank executive director, said about 1 in 4 children in the Mahoning Valley are at risk of hunger.

“We greatly appreciate the continued support of the Lipscher Charitable Trust to provide child-friendly, nutritious food to third-, fourth- and fifth-graders at Niles Intermediate School in the upcoming school year,” he said.

The food bank distributes food to 153 hunger-relief organizations including church pantries, homeless shelter and soup kitchens in Columbiana, Mahoning and Trumbull counties.

The food bank distributed 9.5 million pounds of food, which included 2 million pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables, throughout the Valley in 2014.