ST. LOUIS, April 30, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Spire is donating $250,000 to food pantries and meal programs in its service areas — Missouri, Alabama, Houston, Mississippi, and Wyoming. The donation is part of Spire's broader effort to provide relief to customers impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. Previously, the company announced the suspension of late fees and disconnections into May and a commitment of $500,000 in DollarHelp gifts to help active customers pay their natural gas bills.
"As the pandemic began to sweep across our communities, we asked ourselves, 'How can we help right now? That's very much who we are,'" said Suzanne Sitherwood, Spire president and CEO. "Partnering with food pantries and meal programs seemed like the perfect fit, because providing the energy needed for warm meals and moments around the dinner table is part of our daily business and a real need we can help meet."
Spire's donation will be shared across 17 organizations, including the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Kansas City, Christian Services Inc., Community Food Bank of Central Alabama, Evanston Child Development Center, Feeding the Gulf Coast, Festival for Families, Harvesters Community Food Network, Houston Food Bank, Montgomery Area Food Bank, Ozarks Food Harvest, Ozark Food Pantry, Ronald McDonald House, Second Harvest Community Food Bank, Southeast Missouri Foodbank, St. Louis Area Foodbank, the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis, and the YMCA of Greater Montgomery's Brown Bag Bus. The contributions will provide nearly 650,000 meals.
"We are incredibly grateful for the generous support from Spire to help provide food and hope to so many of our neighbors in need during this coronavirus pandemic," said Meredith Knopp, St. Louis Area Foodbank president and CEO. "During these unprecedented times, it takes all of us coming together to support so many people struggling with food insecurity for the first time."
With school closures, income disruptions and job losses, millions are turning to food banks for much-needed support.
"We are so grateful that our community is rallying around the food bank to help our neighbors in need," said Elizabeth Wix, director of partnerships and interim executive manager at the Community Food Bank of Central Alabama. "We have seen a large increase in the demand for our services as businesses are closed and folks are out of work. Donations like this help us to purchase more food and feed more families."
To learn more about what Spire is doing to help customers impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, visit SpireEnergy.com/relief.
About Spire
At Spire Inc. (NYSE: SR) we believe energy exists to help make people's lives better. It's a simple idea, but one that's at the heart of our company. Every day we serve 1.7 million homes and businesses making us the fifth largest publicly traded natural gas company in the country. We help families and business owners fuel their daily lives through our gas utilities serving Alabama, Mississippi and Missouri. Our natural gas-related businesses include Spire Marketing, Spire STL Pipeline and Spire Storage. We are committed to transforming our business through growing organically, investing in infrastructure, and advancing through innovation. Learn more at SpireEnergy.com.
Media Contact:
Raegan Johnson
314-342-3300
Raegan.Johnson@SpireEnergy.com
View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/spire-commits-250-000-to-feeding-people-in-the-communities-it-serves-301050314.html
SOURCE Spire Inc.
