The United Family donated more than 5,000 pounds of apples to the High Plains Food Bank (HPFB) as a part of its Take a Bite Out of Hunger program during its Wednesday morning truck delivery.
The local donation, a total of 5,670 pounds of apples, is just a portion of the 14-year partnership between United and food banks across Texas, having donated a total of 50,000 pounds of apples to food pantries across the state since the program’s inception. The Take a Bite Out of Hunger program is an annual event, sponsored by FirstFruits Farms, created to help feed underserved communities while also bringing attention to the problem of food insecurity in the United States. The program collects these donations in partnership with the public, allotting a time throughout the year where every apple sold will equate to an apple donated.
According to Travis Chaney, regional vice president for Amarillo region of United Supermarkets, displays were set up across regional stores, beginning in February of this year through early April, alerting shoppers that every apple sold would equate to an apple donation to area food banks.
“This is approximately a little over 2,000 apples in total here today. With us being in the food business, we feel that it is part of our mission to help with food insecurities in the areas that we serve, and this is just another great way for us to be able to do that each year,” Chaney said.
For HPFB, the program is a rare opportunity for those they serve to receive some fresh produce.
“We strive to bring in fresh produce, especially during the summertime and the growing months, … but it is really a special occasion when we get special citrus items such as apples. Oftentimes we focus a lot on fresh produce that is grown in Texas, so apples are rare because we don’t grow as many in the state,” said Zack Wilson, executive director of HPFB.
As stated by Wilson, these apples will be distributed beginning as soon as the same day to the communities they serve. Wilson said that fresh produce items are such a hot commodity and a highly requested item that he would be shocked to see any of the apples still in their facilities by the end of the week.
HPFB also said that this year, the donation means even more, as they have seen a rise in the area need.
“We have seen a definite increase in the amount of households that we serve on average every month, even before the wildfires that affected us back in late February. We are now around 10,000 households a month throughout our 29-county service area. … If these apples last a week in our facility, I will be very surprised, but this just goes to show our need here in our area,” Wilson said.
Over the past 14 years, the United Family has donated 600,000 pounds of apples through the Take a Bite Out of Hunger program.
For more information about the United Family, visit them online at https://www.unitedsupermarkets.com/ .
For more information about the food bank, go online to https://www.hpfb.org/ .
This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: United Family donates 2,000 apples to High Plains Food Bank
