Portsmouth Rotary Funds Milk Program for 300 families

Portsmouth, NH (January 12, 2012) – "Got Milk?" was the question posed to Portsmouth Rotarians this month, when a proposal made by the Pease ‘n Carrots Holiday Food Drive to provide milk for 300 families receiving assistance from the Seacoast Family Food Pantry was discussed. The Portsmouth Rotary Club's Basic Needs Committee agreed to give $3,600 towards milk for needy families, which added to the contributions of canned goods and donations collected by the Pease n' Carrots Annual effort, run by Rotarian Mark Sullivan of Seacoast Asset Management. Sullivan was instrumental in helping the food pantry to obtain discounted milk along with a large, new refrigeration unit provided and maintained by H. P. Hood beginning last year, and wanted to further help the Food Pantry by subsidizing projected 2012 milk costs. 

Director Diane Giese said, "This $3,600 will fund　our entire projected milk budget for all of 2012, and is so important in our endeavor to provide healthy foods to our individuals and families. I really appreciate the considerable efforts on our behalf."

"Mark Sullivan has shown the food pantry ways to reduce costs and serve a greater number of families through his diligent efforts," said Rotarian Catherine Edison of Community Child Care Center of Portsmouth, who is chairperson of the Basic Needs Committee. "It made perfect sense to fund this project for 2012, as the number of families served has tripled in the last three years."

The Portsmouth Rotary Club (PortsmouthRotary.org), chartered on March 28, 1923, is the largest Rotary Club in New England with over 200 members committed to living the Rotary International motto of "Service Above Self."　

The Seacoast Family Food Pantry (www.seacoastfamilyfoodpantry.org) was organized in 1816 as the Ladies Humane Society.   Originally intended to assist the families of fishermen, this agency has been redefined, evolving into the Seacoast Family Food Pantry in 2007.  The Annual Pease 'Carrots Holiday Food Drive was founded in 2008 by Seacoast Asset Management (seacoastassetmgt.com) , a fiduciary investment advisory firm, in cooperation with Two International Group, CP Property Management, Philbrick's Fresh Market and the Pease Tradeport community.

(Photo caption) Catherine Edison (left) of Portsmouth Rotary Club's Basic Needs Committee, and fellow Rotarian Mark Sullivan (right), Founder of the　Pease 'n　Carrots　Annual Holiday Food Drive,　presented checks totaling $3,600 to the Seacoast Family Food Pantry's Margie Parker　(second from left), Pantry Director, and　Diane Giese (third from left), Executive Director.