Valley groups receive funds for food

By WILLIAM K. ALCORN

alcorn@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

The Second Harvest Food Bank of Mahoning Valley received the lion’s share of $1 million in grants presented to three Mahoning Valley nonprofit hunger-relief organizations today by the Walmart Foundation.Two Youngstown-based agencies, Second Harvest and Catholic Charities Regional Agency, received $715,000 and $275,000, respectively. Trumbull Mobile Meals in Warren received a check for $10,000. The Walmart donation is the result of Youngstown’s first-place finish in the company’s “Fighting Hunger Together” spring Facebook campaign.

Residents in the 200 communities in the United States with the highest unemployment rate, as reported in February by the U.S. Department of Labor, were eligible to vote via Facebook once a day. With more than 98,000 votes, the Mahoning Valley, known as the Youngstown-Warren Area for purposes of the contest, took first place and won the $1 million in grants. More than 396,000 votes were cast during the campaign, which ran from April 9 through April 30, according to Walmart.

According to Feeding America’s Map the Meals project, more than 48,000 people in Mahoning County are food insecure. “We are so thankful to each person in the community who rallied around this cause and helped bring the money to the Youngstown-Warren area,” said Walmart Market Manager Matt Burke. “Today, we are celebrating as a community because each of us played a role fighting hunger and helping our neighbors.” “I was very pleased to see the way our community came together in order to win this award.  The people in Youngstown and Warren truly care about one another and that is what makes our community so great,” said state Senator Joe Schiavoni of Canfield, D-33rd. “This million dollars will go a long way in helping to feed our Valley’s neediest residents.” Grants of $50,000 each will be awarded to nonprofits in the 20 runner-up communities that ranked behind Youngstown.

In addition to the Facebook campaign, Walmart’s “Fighting Hunger Together” spring initiative encouraged customers to visit one of its 3,854 Walmart stores and Neighborhood Markets nationwide and purchase products from participating suppliers, General Mills, ConAgra Foods, Kraft Foods and the Kellogg Company. More than 42 million meals will be provided to families struggling with hunger as a result of these efforts, Walmart reported.