The Jane Phillips Society presented the High Plains Food Bank a gift of more than $69,000 to help the organization purchase a new box truck for the Commodity Supplemental Food Program. The funds for this donation come from the National Memorial Fund.
“The Jane Phillips National Memorial Fund’s generous gift will allow us to expand the Commodity Supplemental Food Program, which currently provides a monthly box of nutritious commodity foods to more than 2,000 low-income seniors,” said Zack Wilson, executive director of High Plains Food Bank. “Thanks to their support, we will add a dedicated CSFP truck to our fleet, allowing us to take the CSFP program to more rural counties to provide better access for area seniors at risk for food insecurity.”
As described on its website, HPFB offers the Commodity Supplemental Food Program to eligible seniors 60 years of age or older. Each box in the program includes around 25 to 30 pounds of shelf-stable groceries and a two-pound block of commodity cheese to supplement participants’ diets. The boxes include canned fruits, vegetables, animal proteins, and other items like cereal and milk on a rotating basis.
The HPFB said that the Jane Phillips Society National Memorial Fund has contributed over $300,000 to charities throughout the country in its history. The chapters of the society voted to award $69,044.83 to the HPFB in Amarillo during its 79th annual convention in June, which represents “a cumulation of five years of donations given by all chapters of JPS, to the High Plains Food Bank, in Amarillo, Texas.”