MIDLAND On Friday morning, the West Texas Food Bank received a check for nearly $20,000 from Whataburger that will support the Food 2 Kids program.
West Texas Food Bank president and CEO Libby Campbell said the funds, which totaled $19,581, will help 3,400 kids who live in the 19-county area they serve.
Campbell said the 3,400 kids who will be helped by the Food 2 Kids program is the most the West Texas Food Bank has served since it started the program. She also explained that she expects that number to grow over the next couple of months.
The West Texas Food Bank’s Food 2 Kids program started Friday and will help feed kids from Friday at lunch to Monday at breakfast. The check was presented on Friday at the West Texas Food Bank location in Midland.
“This is the highest week of students that we’ve seen in the history of the program and we are expecting to see the need of the program grow,” Campbell said.
Whataburger Corporate Field Marketing Coordinator Sarah Marston said the funds were raised from Whataburger locations from Odessa, Midland and Big Spring. The funds were raised during the three-week campaign in September for Hunger Action Month.
Marston also said Whataburger raised $60,000 across West Texas and the Panhandle to support six regional food banks.
“We asked each customer coming in if they wanted to donate a dollar to our local food banks,” Marston said. “The great thing is, that money stays here local to help kids.”
Campbell said she has seen the effects of inflation throughout West Texas.
There are families that haven’t needed the assistance of the food bank that Campbell said she’s started to see come in. Campbell said the best way to contact the West Texas Food Bank is through its social media accounts.
Campbell said not only can the West Texas Food Bank help families in need, but the food bank can also help families find other non-profit organizations that provide assistance.
“Most people in our lines today are people who have jobs, they don’t qualify for public assistance things like SNAP or food stamps, so they are having to turn to other places, places they have never had to turn to before,” Campbell explained. “Go to our Facebook, go to our website, go to our Instagram, you can even go to our TikTok at this point and you are going to be able to find a list of places. We have over 100 different partner agencies in the 19 counties that we serve.”
