Newport Restaurant Group (NRG) today announced that it has donated $64,000 to local nonprofits through its annual, year-round gift card program, exceeding last year’s fundraising total by more than $4,000. The program funds $2.00 from every gift card purchase to area nonprofits fighting food insecurity. Since the program’s inception in 2019, more than $214,000 has been distributed to local agencies.
“So many of our neighbors face food insecurity on a daily basis, and we are grateful to the wonderful organizations in our region that work tirelessly to provide relief,” said Paul O’Reilly, President and Chief Executive Officer of Newport Restaurant Group, in a statement. “We are honored to have the opportunity to support this work, and we thank our incredible guests without whom this donation would not be possible.”
The 2023 recipients include the Aquidneck Community Table, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center, RI Community Food Bank, and Hope’s Harvest in Rhode Island, and the Brookline Food Pantry, The Food Project, and Centre Street Food Pantry in Massachusetts.
“We’re on track to provide over 1.1 million meals this year through our food pantry, mobile food pantry, food deliveries to seniors, and meal programs. We can’t meet the need without funding, and Newport Restaurant group’s steadfast support is a gamechanger for the MLK Community Center,” said Heather Hole Strout, Executive Director of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center. “For six years, the generous patrons and employee-owners of Newport Restaurant Group have helped us meet unprecedented need for hunger relief. We are so grateful.”
In addition to the financial support, NRG employee owners volunteer with these organizations throughout the year in a variety of ways, from collecting non-perishable food items for the RI Community Food Bank to preparing and serving dinners at the Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center, to harvesting surplus fruits and vegetables at local farms that are distributed to hunger relief agencies through a partnership with Hope’s Harvest.
The 2024 gift card program is ongoing and gift cards can be purchased at any NRG property or online at www.newportrestaurantgroup.com.