GASSAWAY, W.Va. – An Oil and Gas company has teamed up with the Mountaineer Food Bank to help end food insecurities throughout West Virginia.
The Antero Foundation from Antero Resources presented a check for $150,000 to the Mountaineer Food Bank this afternoon in Gassaway. Antero promised to match every dollar raised during the food bank’s annual; We’re Here Campaign.
“Being a newly launched foundation, we were looking for ways that we could help positively in our community and our operating area,” explained the Regional Vice President of Antero Resources, Kevin Ellis. “We also knew that the pandemic had created quite a bit of need, if you will, in terms of food insecurity in West Virginia. We wanted to be helpful to our friends and neighbors who we work with and know.”
In West Virginia, more than 250,000 people struggle with hunger, and, of them, nearly 75,000 are children. Located in Gassaway, Mountaineer Food Bank provides food and other household items to homes in 48 counties across the state.
The Food Bank is also involved in organizing soup kitchens, backpack programs, mobile food pantries, senior programs, and shelters. As the state’s largest emergency food provider, it supplies 20.7 million pounds of food annually in collaboration with the West Virginia Department of Agriculture.
The foundation’s check has helped the campaign raise $300,000 to combat food insecurity.
“And this is so important right now, especially with the pandemic,” Strategic Gifts Officer Mountaineer Food Bank Laura Hedrick explained. “A lot of people think that the need is going away, but it is still just as present as ever. Currently, one in seven West Virginians doesn’t know where their next meal is going to come from and struggles with food insecurity.
If you want to help with the ongoing problem of food insecurity or learn more, you can visit the food bank’s website.
