Shane Laurie, left, and Amy Fortin

GOUVERNEUR -- For the second year in a row, employees at the Gouverneur Cargill facility contributed $2,500 to the Lights on the River food drive in Lisbon to make the holidays a little brighter for those struggling with hunger.

Cargill teamed up with the United Way of Northern New York to help St. Lawrence County families in need during the holiday season.

“No one wants to spend the holidays without enough food to eat,” said Shane Laurie, plant manager of the Gouverneur Cargill facility. “We live and work in this community. I grew up here. It was important for us to support our neighbors who needed a little help.”

The donation was made to Lights on the River, an annual holiday festival of lighted displays which accepts donations for food pantries in several North Country communities.

This year, $26,400 and almost 4 tons of food were raised during the nine-day event.

According to a report on hunger in America published by Zogby Analytics, 9 percent of Americans say they "have gone without food for 24 hours at a time because of a lack of money or food” in the past month.