Sailors deliver 800 lbs of food

NEW LONDON, Conn. (WTNH) -- Non-perishable, low sodium, low sugar: several hundred pounds of healthy donations were delivered by sailors from the Submarine Base in Groton.

"It's just...it's a way for us to pay forward," said MC1 Jason Perry, sailor.

Several boxes, filled with what sailors originally estimated to be nearly 400 pounds of food, were loaded up for the good will mission.

All the food in the boxes was donated through the Navy's Caring and Sharing program. The original food was given out to Navy families.

A surplus after 400 families were helped during the holidays, and a testament to the generosity of many.

"The donations and the generous help that we get, we get to pay it forward to the local community too," said Perry, "it's awesome."

"I think their enthusiasm for what they do was just an injection of energy for all of us," said Virginia Mason, United Way.

The United Way says one in six kids suffers from food insecurity, in other words they usually have food.

"If they have a rough patch or somebody is an hourly worker and they're not able to make all of their hours, all of a sudden money runs out and food runs out," said Mason.

"The unfortunate side of it is that more and more people need help every year," said Perry, "and so we're just one of those pieces of the puzzle to help out."

The food the sailors delivered turned out to be twice as much as they estimated, more than 800 pounds, making even more of a difference.