Holiday Fundraiser to Provide More Than 20,000 Meals While Supporting Interest in Local Clean Energy

WATERBURY, VT — Every year during the holiday season, SunCommon hosts an annual Holiday Giving campaign to shine light on important issues in our local communities. While the company’s core mission is addressing climate change through the installation of commercial and residential solar, this annual campaign uses the business as a force for good beyond their everyday work.

This year SunCommon partnered with the Vermont Foodbank, The Food Bank of the Hudson Valley and the Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York to raise awareness and funds for those experiencing hunger in our region. SunCommon donated $20 to the campaign for every household that looked into solar this November and December, resulting in funds to provide over 20,000 meals for families facing hunger.

“We wanted to create a campaign that allowed us to focus on our mission of addressing the climate crisis, while recognizing the urgency of our neighbors experiencing hunger right now,” said Jake Elliott, SunCommon’s Impact Partnership Manager. “After learning that rates of hunger had only gotten worse through the pandemic and that relief funding was going to be expiring, it was clear this was where our energy needed to go this year,” Elliott shared.

According to the Vermont Foodbank, “nearly one in four people in Vermont [were] experiencing food insecurity” prior to the pandemic, but that “during the COVID-19 crisis, this number rose to one in three.” The statistics in New York are similar, and while state and federal support have helped alleviate the need, these programs are set to expire soon, creating more concern for anti-hunger advocates across the region.

“The pandemic continues to create unpredictability and disruptions impacting all of us and exacerbating the rate of food insecurity across Vermont. Many neighbors who are accessing the support of the Foodbank and our network have never experienced food insecurity or needed our services before. We see these challenges with food insecurity continuing throughout 2022,” offered John Sayles, CEO of the Vermont Foodbank. “The partnership of community-minded businesses like SunCommon is critical to ensuring that all of our neighbors have the food they need to thrive.”

You can learn more about SunCommon’s Holiday Giving Campaign at www.suncommon.com/holiday-giving-program-2021/ and learn more about how to support the Vermont Food Bank at https://www.vtfoodbank.org/.