Accessing healthy food can greatly impact a person’s health and well-being. Unfortunately, it’s not always regularly available to far too many individuals and families.
To help expand resources, UnitedHealthcare recently announced a $50,000 donation to the Mountaineer Food Bank (MFB) of West Virginia. The donation will positively impact several of Mountaineer Food Bank’s programs, which serve more than 97,500 households across the state annually.
“Hunger is a hidden crisis that impacts over 200,000 families, individuals and children throughout the state of West Virginia”, said Mountaineer Food Bank’s CEO Chad Morrison. “We’re thrilled to have the support of UnitedHealthcare as families across West Virginia are struggling more than ever before. The generous $50,000 contribution supports our essential efforts of providing food to communities in need.”
Based in Gassaway, West Virginia, Mountaineer Food Bank offers food and other household items to 48 counties across the state and provides outreach through a network of food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, backpack programs, senior programs, mobile pantries and more.
As fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic continues, combined with rising inflation and severe housing shortages, the number of West Virginians struggling with food insecurity also continued to increase. Thanks to donors, Mountaineer Food Bank can expand their reach in identifying and helping those facing inequities in food systems, ultimately leading to happier and healthier lives.
“In West Virginia, more than 200,000 people currently struggle with food security, and of them, 63,000 are children. We know that 80% of what impacts a person’s health happens outside of the doctor’s office, which is why it is a mission of UnitedHealthcare to support organizations like Mountaineer Food Bank to increase access to necessities like affordable, nutritional food,” said Wanda Coley, vice president of strategy, UnitedHealthcare Medicare Plan of West Virginia.
For additional information on MFB, including upcoming 2023 Mobile Food Pantry dates, visit mountaineerfoodbank.org.
