Families in Northeastern Connecticut are gearing up for a fun day of activities to help combat hunger by attending the first annual Harvest for Hunger event, Sunday, October 14, at Fort Hill Farms in Thompson, CT. Sponsored by the employees of Rogers Corp. and Fort Hill Farms, the event will be held from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. A variety of fund-raising activities at the event will benefit Connecticut Food Bank’s mobile pantry and food programs of Thompson Ecumenical Empowerment Group (TEEG).

Harvest for Hunger will feature Fort Hill Farms’ great corn maze adventure, as well as live music, crafts, food, pumpkin painting, face painting, wagon rides, and a variety of children’s activities for all ages. Three local bands will perform throughout the day, including Triple Shot, Sittin’ In, and Big Yellow Taxi.  Participants can also enter in drawings for gift baskets, crafts and gift certificates donated by local businesses.  

The idea for the Harvest for Hunger came from employees of Rogers Corporation. After learning that one out of every 5 children in their local community are at risk of hunger every day, they decided to pool their talents and organize a community event to benefit the Food Bank’s mobile pantry program, as well as local food banks. 

Gary St. Jean, one of the event organizers from Rogers, says, “Harvest for Hunger is a great opportunity for families to have fun together while helping to contribute to critical programs fighting hunger in our own local community. Many of our employees have volunteered to help with the activities. For myself, I’m looking forward to exploring the corn maze!”

Visitors are encouraged to bring canned and non-perishable food items to be collected at the entrance.  Donations and fund-raising activity proceeds from the event will benefit the Mobile Pantry program in the Northeast Connecticut region and TEEG’s local food bank that serves Thompson, Woodstock, Pomfret and surrounding areas. 

The Mobile Pantry is a unique resource for fresh food delivered directly to local neighborhoods. Response has been overwhelming, demand continues to increase, but the program is costly.  Donations are needed to help ensure these programs can keep up with local needs. Additional donations can also be made at the event or online at www.ctfoodbank.org.

Space for crafters is available for $20 per exhibitor. Exhibitors should contact harvest @rogerscorp.com to register. Deadline for exhibitor registration is October 10th.

Fort Hill Farms was named “Best of New England for 2012” by Yankee Magazine. Thousands of visitors each year explore The Corn Maze Adventure at the scenic Thompson farm that has been in continuous agricultural production for more than 300 years. More information and driving directions can be found at www.forthillfarms.com.

Rogers Corp., is a global technology leader in specialty materials and components that help power, protect and connect the world. Headquartered in Rogers, Connecticut, the firm operates manufacturing facilities in Rogers and Woodstock, CT, in addition to Arizona, Illinois, Germany, Belgium, China, and South Korea, with joint ventures and sales offices worldwide. For more information, visit www.rogerscorp.com.

For more information on Harvest for Hunger, contact harvest@rogerscorp.com.  

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