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Second Harvest awarded $60,000 grant from Walmart
YOUNGSTOWN
More than 150 Mahoning Valley hunger-relief organizations will have more food to give out for the upcoming holiday season.
That’s because the Second Harvest Food Bank of the Mahoning Valley will receive a $60,000 donation from the Walmart Foundation’s national campaign “Fight Hunger. Spark Change.”
Additionally, Walmart teamed up with six of the largest food providers to support food banks: General Mills, Unilever, Hormel, ConAgra Foods, PepsiCo/Quaker and Kellogg Co.
The Arkansas-based company will donate $3 million, or the equivalent of 37 million meals, to 50 food banks that are members of Feeding America, a national hunger relief charity.
Public voting occurred from Sept. 15 to Oct. 5 to select the top 50 food banks in the country, and Second Harvest came in second with 13,061 votes.
Mike Iberis, executive director of Second Harvest Food Bank, said he appreciates the support from the Valley.
“We’re thrilled that we’re able to bring $60,000 to the Valley to bring more food to our pantries,” he said.
The $60,000 grant will be distributed among Second Harvest’s 153 partner agencies. Second Harvest is required to provide $1,500 to its top 10 partner agencies: Salem Community Pantry, South Range Council of Church and Community of North Lima, Warren Family Mission, FISH of East Liverpool, New Life Assembly of God of Poland, Niles Community Services, First Church of Christ of East Palestine, Difference Makers of Campbell, Cortland Area Cares and The Concern of Sebring.
The remaining $45,000 will be distributed to other Valley pantries based on the number of people they feed.
“We were voting like crazy,” said Cliff Votaw, the director of Salem Community Pantry.
Votaw said the donation will help purchase about 22,000 pounds of food for their pantry.
“It’s a great asset for this community,” said Cheryl Parsons, director of publication relations for Warren Family Mission.
Warren Family Mission feeds about 300 to 500 families each week, she said.
A Walmart spokesperson said Feeding America will distribute the funds throughout October and November.
“We believe no one in America should have to worry about where their next meal is coming from,” Bob Aiken, CEO of Feeding America, said in a statement.
Feeding America serves 46.5 million people in the U.S. Twenty-eight percent of its clients are children under age 18.
In first place was Feeding South Dakota in Sioux Falls with 13,676 votes.