200 Thanksgiving Meals for 200 Years of Giving Back

Liberty Bank of Middletown, Conn. - in partnership with Max Hospitality, Connecticut Foodshare and Sardilli Produce & Dairy - prepared, assembled and donated 200 complete Thanksgiving Meal Kits to four local food pantries.

The 200 complete Thanksgiving Meal Kits - which include a turkey with all the fixings - is part of Liberty Bank's yearlong celebration of its 200^th anniversary in 2025.

The four food pantries receiving Thanksgiving Meal Kits for families they serve include: HRA of New Britain Food & Resource Center (New Britain); Loaves & Fishes Food Pantry (New Haven); Love and Serve Food Pantry (Naugatuck); and The Storehouse Project - Peret Food Pantry (Milford).

The handoff of the Thanksgiving Meal Kits took place at Connecticut Foodshare in Wallingford on Monday, November 24.

Liberty Bank worked with generous partners to help make the donation possible:

• Max Hospitality hosted Liberty volunteers at Max's Tavern in Springfield on Sunday, November 23 where they prepared and assembled the Thanksgiving Meal Kits and loaded them onto a Sardilli box truck for the Monday delivery.
• Connecticut Foodshare selected the local pantries to receive Thanksgiving Meal Kits, provided refrigeration for the meals and hosted the volunteer event.
• Sardilli Produce & Dairy provided a box truck and driver to deliver the Thanksgiving Meal Kits from Max's Tavern in Springfield to Connecticut Foodshare in Wallingford.
  

"Our purpose this year was to celebrate our 200^th anniversary in a way that would have made our founders from 200 years ago very proud: creatively, selflessly and generously by giving back to the communities we serve," said David W. Glidden, President & CEO of Liberty Bank. "Thanks to Team Liberty and big-hearted community partners and customers like Max Hospitality, Connecticut Foodshare and Sardilli, we made this Thanksgiving a very special one for 200 families in need - putting an exclamation point on what has been a historic, unique and memorable yearlong celebration."

"Liberty Bank's commitment to celebrating its 200th anniversary by supporting Connecticut families facing food insecurity truly embodies the spirit of the holiday season," said Jason Jakubowski, President & CEO of Connecticut Foodshare. "We're grateful to Liberty Bank, Max Hospitality, and Sardilli for coming together to ensure more of our neighbors can enjoy a Thanksgiving meal."

"For everyone at Max Hospitality, taking care of people is at the heart of what we do. Being part of this initiative with Liberty Bank, Connecticut Foodshare and Sardilli allows us to extend that care beyond our restaurants and into the homes of families who need it most. It's a privilege to help make their holiday a little brighter," Max Hospitality.

"Giving back to the community is at the heart of who we are as a family-owned business and we are honored to support great partners such as Liberty Bank, Connecticut Foodshare and Max Hospitality in bringing fresh and healthy food to those who need it most during this holiday season," Sardilli Produce & Dairy.

The donation of 200 Thanksgiving Meal Kits was one of several community-focused activities organized by Liberty Bank during its 200^th Anniversary:

• "1825" initiative where chosen nonprofits in communities where Liberty Bank has branches received a donation of "$1825" - over $90,000 in total;
• Donated $200,000 to Make-a-Wish Connecticut and $50,000 to Make-a-Wish of Massachusetts/Rhode Island to grant "wishes" for children on their waiting lists;
• Partnered with Hands of Hartford to provide lunch kits to ensure children have healthy lunches on days they are not in school;
• 200 bikes built by Team Liberty and donated to the Boys & Girls Club of Hartford.