Cumberland Farms is set to kick off food drive


Cumberland Farms, the Canton-based convenience-store chain, said it has partnered with Massachusetts 4-H to mobilize a food drive that will benefit food pantries across the Bay State.

Starting Monday and running through November 15, people can drop off all non-perishable food at any of the 190 Cumberland Farms stores in the state as 4-H members aim to collect 12,000 pounds of food.

Citing statistics from Project Bread, Cumberland Farms noted in a press release that on in three Massachusetts children lives in a family that struggles to put food on the table - "a figure that is unfortunately only worsening in the current troubled economy."

"Too many people in Massachusetts don't have enough to eat," Cumberland Farms chairman and chief executive Lily Bentas said in a statement. "We are pleased to partner with 4-H in this food drive, easing the burden of families in need."

The Cumberland Farms press release added, "The 4-H will retrieve the donations from the Cumberland Farms stores, delivering the food to local food banks in each county, from Barnstable to Berkshire, from Norfolk to Middlesex, from Worcester to Plymouth and in between."