High Plains Food Bank receives $250,000 donation from AIG

The High Plains Food Bank recently announced it has received a $250,000 donation from the AIG Foundation.

The donation is from the foundation's total contribution of $2 million to Feeding America in support of helping communities fight food insecurity.

“With AIG’s support, we will be able to provide more meals to our neighbors who struggle to put food on their tables,” said Zack Wilson, executive director of HPFB.

According to Wilson, High Plains Food Bank has seen approximately a 30 percent increase in need since the beginning of the pandemic, and they are currently serving about 9,800 to 10,000 households a month across the Texas Panhandle.

Wilson spoke about the grant being allotted to the food bank last year, but because of complications due to COVID, the food bank was unable to implement the funds until now.

Laura Gallagher, AIG’s global head of corporate citizenship and president of the AIG Foundation, said in a news release, “It goes without saying that 2020 raised extraordinary difficulties for the communities where we live, work, and serve our customers. Our company is committed to helping individuals, businesses, and communities prepare for and respond to times of uncertainty.”

“As we address the challenges presented by the pandemic going forward, as well as the traumatic events that exposed the depth of inequality that continues to affect our society, the AIG Foundation aims to make a meaningful impact by providing pandemic relief for basic needs,” Gallagher said.

The $250,000 donation will allow HPFB to continue its mission of combating hunger in the community by providing more supplies to the communities that need it the most. Wilson said that they will identify these communities through a voluntary survey, which will allow for them to gauge the types of insecurities that these individuals and households have, as well as the cause for the insecurity.

“This is something that we’ve wanted to do for a long time, just asking individuals to voluntarily answer the questions — what are their needs, and what they struggling with. ... This will help us to better understand where the greatest needs are. That’s what also excites us about this grant,” Wilson said. “A very small portion will go to that; the rest will go to general operations in bringing food out and the distributing cost. It will really help us set the stage for identifying the needs of everyone in the Panhandle.”

For more information about HPFB or to donate, go to www.hpfb.org

This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: High Plains Food Bank $250,000 AIG grant help Panhandle communities