SHREWSBURY — Advantage Truck Group’s Santa-sleigh equivalent – a caravan of trucks – made its way from its headquarters in Shrewsbury to begin the delivery of 3,500 meals to eight area-organizations committed to ending food insecurity.

“We are proud to continue our tradition of helping others by fighting food insecurity in our communities, and are grateful for the support that our employees, customers and other partners have for this program,” said Kevin Holmes, president and CEO of ATG. “As we continue to grow our network across New England, we are committed to bringing Haulin’ 4 Hunger to every area where we operate.”

Beginning on Dec. 16, 3,500 hot turkey plates complete with “all the fixings,” were delivered to the following organizations in Central Mass:

  •       Abby’s House
  •       Friendly House
  •       Jeremiah’s Inn and Food Pantry
  •       Marlborough Community Cupboard 
  •       South Worcester Neighborhood Center
  •       St. Anne’s Human Services
  •       St. John’s Food for the Poor Program
  •     Veterans, Inc.

The Haulin’ 4 Hunger program is part of ATG’s annual “week of giving,” which is taking place this year from Dec. 13-22. ATG began this tradition back in 2012. Several local businesses help ATG in their deliveries, including: G. Lopes Construction, McDevitt Trucks, and UniBank, among others.

ATG kicked it up a notch this year. In response to greater food insecurity brought on by the coronavirus pandemic, the organization doubled its donations and increased the quantity of food pantries it supports.

“The number of people who are hungry has increased over the past eight months. Just yesterday, we had over 450 people here,” said Billy Reilly, the soup kitchen manager of St. John’s Food for the Poor Program. “I am so thankful for the fresh food that Haulin’ 4 Hunger brings us each year. It makes a big impact in the lives of those we serve who are struggling and hungry.”

In addition to the hot meals dropped off throughout Central Mass, ATG and its participating community partners will be dropping off nonperishable food items to six food pantry organizations in other locations in Massachusetts, as well as New Hampshire and Vermont. The organizations that will receive the non-perishable items from Dec. 13-22 are:

  • Fall Mountain Food Shelf 
  • LISTEN Food Pantry
  • Rockingham Community Action 
  • Raynham Food Basket 
  • New Hampshire Food Bank 

“Each of the organizations we support through Haulin’ 4 Hunger are working to ensure those facing hardships have enough food to eat during the holidays and every day, and we are honored to help them in this critical effort,” said Holmes.