POLAND — Employees at the Poland Spring bottling plant spent a sunny Saturday taking time to give back to a local organization in need.

The Poland Community Food bank, which assists over 100 families in the tri-town area of Poland, Minot and Mechanic Falls on a monthly basis, received a well-deserved face lift.

Approximately 50 employees and their family members participated in the Spring Spruce-up Event on May 3, painting, cleaning and landscaping, all to ensure that local neighbors in need have a clean, comfortable location to obtain food for their families. The volunteer day piggybacked a recent contribution from Poland Spring Bottling that provided installation of 21 new windows to the facility.

“We were thrilled upon the news that we were receiving new windows to cut down on heating costs, but we were ecstatic to witness so many employees in action. It warms your heart to see a business so committed to their community,” said Pam August, Poland Food Bank co-chair.

Every year, Poland Spring hosts a number of food drives in support of the Poland Community Food Bank. This year employees were determined to kick it up a notch by recognizing a local neighbor in need and lightening the load through the assistance of many hands.

Poland Spring also recently awarded a $1,000 good neighbor grant to the Poland Manna Fed Backpack program. The backpack program assists 50 families every two weeks by providing food that goes home with students to keep hunger at bay over the weekend.