Top 40 supplier Polyconcept North America (PCNA; asi/78897) has teamed up with the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank to provide gift bags to children during the COVID-19 crisis.

With schools closed, many children are missing more than just friends, classmates and teachers. For some, school lunches were their only nutritious meal of the day. The food bank has been providing grab-and-go meals to help fill that gap during the pandemic.

PCNA, one of the largest employers in Pennsylvania’s Westmoreland County, saw an opportunity to surprise children with something extra at the food bank’s meal-distribution sites. The supplier gave out gift bags featuring an activity book, colored pencils and a teddy bear. Distribution of the gift bags at 15 locations in and around Pittsburgh began April 30 and concludes Monday, May 4.

Neil Ringel, CEO of PCNA, said the joint effort with the food bank was a way to “bring some joy to local children who may be missing their friends and looking for something fun to do while staying safe.” The PCNA Cares program has also been donating masks, hand sanitizers and other products to multiple first-responder groups around the Pittsburgh area, according to Ringel.

PCNA was inspired to include teddy bears in the gift bags by the scavenger hunts that have been happening around the world in the wake of social-distancing guidelines. People have been putting the stuffed animals in the windows of their home, so that when families take neighborhood walks or car rides, they can count up how many teddy bears they can spot. PCNA recently partnered with children’s apparel company Hanna Andersson to distribute 10,000 teddy bears to customers.

Officials from the Pittsburgh food bank were grateful for PCNA’s donation. “This is a challenging time for the people we serve,” said Laruen Babich, child nutrition outreach manager at the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food bank. “We’re grateful to provide meals to families and now to offer them something extra and fun, thanks to the generosity of PCNA.”