Pepperidge Faahm ... Renovates (a Food Pantry)

More than 150 employees from the corporate offices of Norwalk-based Pepperidge Farm will be donating their time to help ready the Christian Community Action Group, Norwalk's largest food pantry, for its reopening on Wednesday, October 26.

The organization is moving from its former 996 square foot space within , 165 Flax Hill Road—its home for the past 30 years—to a new 3,000-square-foot space at 76 South Main St.

According to a release the employees will be painting, refinishing furniture, building indoor and outdoor furniture and stocking newly built food pantries. Pepperidge Farm also donated shelving for the pantry, the release states. Other organizations assisting with the project include Monet Landscaping of Norwalk and Home Depot.

The Christian Community Action Group feeds more than 4,000 people annually — about half of them children and seniors — and has seen a 45 percent increase in the number of people seeking help since it was first established in 1972, according to the release. Much of that increase has come in the past four years. What’s more the organization has seen an increase in two-parent families who are still fighting the effects of the economic downturn.

The move into the new space is expected to enable CCA to expand its outreach and take the pantry 'on the road' to feed those less mobile, the release states.

The Pepperidge Farm volunteers are lending a hand to the pantry as part of Campbell Soup Company's "Make a Difference Week" activities.

In the past, Pepperidge Farm employees have volunteered to assist with cleaning and beautifying Norwalk's and , renovating The Carver Center and partnering with NEON to renovate two local community centers, Nathaniel Ely and Benjamin Franklin.

What’s more, the company has donated time and money to various city entities including Norwalk Nursing and Home Care, Norwalk Open Shelter, the Norwalk Hospital and the Norwalk Schools. As per the release the company recently instituted a summer kids back pack program and completed its first year of Project L.E.A.N., an initiative Pepperidge Farm is co-leading with the City of Norwalk and Norwalk Hospital to reduce the rate of childhood obesity among students at .

As reported on Norwalk Patch in September, Pepperidge Farm recently broke ground on a at its headquarters on Westport Avenue — including construction of a new, $30 million, 34,000-square-foot "Innovation Center," where the company will research new product ideas.