M&T Bank donates $25,000 to FeedMore WNY to combat food insecurity during the coronavirus pandemic

FeedMore WNY, formerly the Food Bank of WNY and Meals on Wheels for WNY, today announced a $25,000 donation from M&T Bank to support COVID-19 response efforts benefitting local children and older adults.

“The pandemic has disrupted many aspects of our lives and countless people are depending on FeedMore WNY for food assistance, including our region’s most vulnerable, our youth and our seniors,” Tara A. Ellis, FeedMore WNY President and CEO, said. “M&T Bank’s support will help ease the strain we are currently feeling and help us reach more people facing hunger during this difficult time.”

The donation will enable FeedMore WNY to help more youth and older adults, more quickly, by increasing bulk food purchases and delivery for its BackPack Program and senior grocery services. It also will help cover operating costs for the organization’s annual Walk Off Hunger fundraiser, which has gone virtual and will kick off on October 3, 2020.

“Even in the best of times, hunger and food insecurity is a challenge. The pandemic has made this need even more severe,” Shelley Drake, M&T Bank Regional President, said. “We’re honored to do a small part to help seniors and families as they try to recover from the difficult financial challenges the pandemic has brought to so many people, especially people already under financial stress.”

On top of the monetary donation, M&T Bank also is pledging to provide in-person support at the organization’s distribution centers. The team has long been volunteering at the food bank warehouse as well as participating in the “Adopt-A-Route” program with its employees volunteering to deliver meals to homebound residents since 2014.

Donating funds to supply food for those in need is just one way M&T Bank has responded during this pandemic, according to Drake. “It was important to us to be an early funder of the WNY COVID-19 Community Response Fund, which provided financial support to over 300 local organizations to address the region’s most critical needs, including food insecurity.”

M&T Bank also donated to aid front line workers at local hospitals in the local fight against COVID-19, as well as to the New York Forward Loan Fund and Open4, two initiatives aimed at providing guidance and support to small businesses and non-profits during these difficult times.