FirstEnergy's $500,000 donation benefits food banks in Westmoreland, Cranberry, elsewhere

Those picking up food from organizations served by the Westmoreland County Food Bank will have their food placed in prepackaged boxes, thanks in part to a $30,000 donation from The FirstEnergy Foundation, linked to West Penn Power Co.’s parent corporation.

The donation allowed the Delmont-based food bank to buy more food for the more than 7,000 disadvantaged families it serves.

“This is a tremendous help,” said food bank CEO Jennifer Miller.

The money was part of a larger $500,000 donation from the FirstEnergy Foundation to 42 food banks and hunger centers in the communities served by FirstEnergy’s utility companies in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Maryland, New Jersey and West Virginia. More than 150 organizations have benefited from $2 million in contributions, the company said.

Because of the fear of spreading the coronavirus that causes covid-19, Miller said the Westmoreland food bank would have still delivered its life-sustaining goods to various pantries in boxes. However, without the money from the foundation, Miller said the food bank would have had to spend its own money to buy boxes, reducing the amount of food it would have been able to buy.

The foundation also distributed $5,000 to the Lighthouse Foundation Food Pantry in Valencia and the Gleaners Food Bank in Cranberry, said Todd Meyers, a West Penn Power spokesman.

The foundation also will accelerate about $1.5 million in matching contributions to 116 United Way agencies throughout the company’s service territory to help support vital health and human services organizations.

The FirstEnergy Foundation will provide $2 million to communities the company serves to help families in need during the pandemic response, said Lorna Wisham, foundation president and FirstEnergy vice president for community involvement. It made accelerated payments to 116 agencies in its footprint this week.

The United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania received $170,299 from the FirstEnergy Foundation, which will be used in its Impact Fund, said Alyssa Cholodofsky, Westmoreland Region director for the agency.

Westmoreland County organizations will receive $163,718, while those in Fayette County will get $6,510, Cholodofsky said. The money will be distributed to the United Way’s partner agencies in a competitive grant process, Cholodofsky said.

”The pandemic requires an urgent and strategic response from the philanthropic community, and fast-tracking funding to our United Way agencies for operational and program support is a way FirstEnergy can help,” Wisham said.

The covid-19 crisis unfolded during FirstEnergy’s annual employee Harvest for Hunger campaign, but most of fundraising activities were canceled because of restrictions on groups gathering together. As a result, the foundation is donating to local hunger centers to help those suffering from the economic fallout that is part of this health emergency, Wisham said.

Miller said the Westmoreland food bank has received many calls and referrals from people seeking food.

“It’s not very dramatic, but there is definitely an uptick,” Miller said.

The foundation matches employees donations and disperses them to the United Way on a rolling basis throughout the year. FirstEnergy again will make accelerated payments to 116 agencies in its footprint this week.