DANBURY — Union Savings Bank (USB) recently collected 1,000 pounds of nonperishable food items and donated $100,000 to twenty local food pantries as part of its sixth annual “Feeding Our Neighbors” food drive.

Chelen Reyes, president and CEO of Union Savings Bank, said, “We are proud to continue our Feeding Our Neighbors initiative in support of our community and local food pantries … With more families facing food insecurity and rising grocery costs, it was critical for us to expand our efforts and reach more people this year.”

Reyes added, “By engaging all 25 Union Savings Bank branches, we identified 20 food pantries in need and increased our support from $25,000 to $100,000 — quadrupling last year’s impact. In addition, our customers helped collect 1,000 pounds of food this year, bringing our six-year total to nearly 5,000 pounds. Through the bank and the USB Foundation, we have contributed more than $450,000 to area food pantries, helping them continue their vital work to fight hunger in our communities.”

The following food pantries were each awarded $5,000: Bethel Community Food Pantry; Camella’s Cupboard, New Milford; Canton Food Bank; Christ Church of Roxbury — Food Pantry; Daily Bread Food Pantry, Danbury; FAITH Food Pantry of Newtown; Friends of the Brookfield Senior Center; Goshen Food Pantry; Kent Food Bank; Litchfield Food Pantry; Loaves & Fishes Hospitality House, New Milford; Monroe Food Pantry; New Fairfield Food Pantry; Operation Hope — Food Pantry; Person to Person — Norwalk Food Pantry; Ridgefield Food Pantry; Shelley’s Shelves DHS Food Pantry, Danbury High School; Southbury Food Bank; Torrington Soup Kitchen; and Warren & Washington Food Bank, Washington Depot.

Community Food Rescue in Danbury was the recipient of the 1,000 pounds of food.

The Feeding Our Neighbors Challenge was initiated by United Way of Western Connecticut (now United Way of Coastal and Western Connecticut) and Union Savings Bank in October of 2020 to support the local food pantries and the community as they continued to struggle with the effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic. USB has continued the food drive every year since.