CenturyLink backs statewide food drive
CenturyLink Inc. employees and local communities contributed more than $907,000 nationally in the 2017 during the CenturyLink Backpack Buddies Food Drive, which took place June 5-16.
Locally, the drive supported Storehouse New Mexico, Casa de Peregrinos, Belen Area Food Pantry, ECHO, Food Depot, Harvest Ministries of Roswell, and Storehouse West, in addition to more than 140 food banks in other communities the company serves across the country.
To further support the annual food drive, the CenturyLink Clarke M. Williams Foundation contributed a $1 million match to local food bank beneficiaries based on the amount of donations they received through the online donation site. Food banks that offer backpack programs were asked to direct 50 percent of their gifts from the CenturyLink Clarke M. Williams Foundation to those programs.
Nationally, the drive raised more than $1.9 million, including $18,716 in New Mexico.
Food banks can provide an average of five meals for each dollar they receive. Therefore, the CenturyLink Backpack Buddies Food Drive will help provide over 9 million meals throughout its communities.
Since its inception in 2009, donations from the CenturyLink Backpack Buddies Food Drive have provided more than 56 million meals across the country. The goals of the yearly drive are to generate donations for local food banks and help raise awareness of the need for backpack programs.
Backpack programs are crucial to children who rely on school breakfasts and lunches to meet their nutritional needs each day. These programs provide nutritious, shelf-stable meals for at-risk students during weekends and school breaks.
“Part of our goal with the CenturyLink Backpack Buddies Food Drive is to raise awareness of hunger needs in our communities and especially the impact to children,” said Larry North, CenturyLink vice president for operations in New Mexico. “We appreciate our employees, our fellow citizens and local agencies for pulling together to address this critical need.”