To celebrate H-E-B’s 90th anniversary in Corpus Christi and the start of Hunger Action Month in September, H-E-B, through its Hunger Relief Program, donated $1 million and two truckloads of food to the Coastal Bend Food Bank in Corpus Christi.
The $1 million gift will go towards the food bank’s Building Hope campaign, which will fund a new facility to help meet increasing need in the area. H-E-B also gifted the food bank two truckloads of food, which includes shelf stable items such as rice, pasta, and oatmeal.
“H-E-B has been a partner to food banking from the beginning and continues to support the needs of our communities,” said Beatriz Hanson, Executive Director of the Coastal Bend Food Bank. “Their landmark gift towards the Building Hope, Capital Campaign will help us to continue our work of Feeding with Impact and Delivering Hope.”
The monetary gift and food donation are among many of H-E-B’s efforts in honor of Hunger Action Month in September. Each year for Hunger Action Month, H-E-B works to raise awareness about food insecurity by supporting food banks throughout Texas and participating in several hunger initiatives, including its Help End Hunger in-store donation campaign. Through Oct. 26, the Help End Hunger Campaign gives customers the opportunity to donate funds at checkout, in store and online, to support food banks across Texas in their fight against hunger.
Additionally, the donation kicks off H-E-B’s celebration of the company’s 90th anniversary in Corpus Christi. Over the decades, H-E-B has been a dedicated partner to Corpus Christi as an employer and champion for the community. To celebrate its 90th year in Corpus Christi, H-E-B continues its spirit of giving and has committed support to several organizations throughout the city. In 1931, H-E-B opened its first stores in Corpus Christi, which also served as its headquarters from 1940 to 1985.
“At H-E-B, we’re committed to supporting our communities and helping families in need with the necessary resources to avoid hunger,” said Winell Herron, H-E-B Group Vice President Public Affairs, Diversity and Environmental Affairs. “H-E-B is honored to have been embraced by our dedicated customers all these years as a community partner and neighbor in Corpus Christi, a city that will always be a part of our H-E-B family.”
In Texas, one in seven Texans, including one in four children, are at risk of facing hunger, according to data from Feeding Texas. That comes to about 1.4 million households and over four million individuals. Texas is among states with greater food insecurity than the national average.
The donation to the Coastal Bend Food Bank is part of H-E-B’s Hunger Relief Program, which works year-round to raise awareness and battle hunger in the communities H-E-B serves. Last year, H-E-B’s Hunger Relief Program donated 41 million pounds of food to families in need. And since 1982, the year the program was founded, H-E-B has donated more than 1 billion pounds of food to 5,500 non-profit organizations in Texas and Mexico.
