Ameren announces community challenge grant matching $200,000 in donations to St. Louis Area Foodbank through Thanksgiving weekend
Help feed families across Missouri and Illinois by donating today
With one in every seven people in the bi-state region facing hunger, the Ameren Thanks for Giving Community Challenge Grant is matching all donations made to the St. Louis Area Foodbank, up to $200,000, to help provide meals for families in Missouri and Illinois.
“Hunger and food insecurity are often unseen challenges in our region, and we are fortunate to have the St. Louis Area Foodbank and its network of more than 600 soup kitchens, food pantries and shelters to provide support,” said Gwen Mizell, senior vice president, chief sustainability, diversity & philanthropy officer at Ameren. “A large focus of AmerenCares is helping nonprofits in the critical needs space. We know that when food, housing, health care access and transportation needs are met, we can empower greater progress and prosperity in our communities.”
Making a monetary donation to the St. Louis Area Foodbank can have a much bigger impact than donating shelf-stable food. The foodbank is able to purchase food items at significantly reduced costs, so a donation of just $50 can stretch far enough to feed a family for two weeks. With Ameren’s matching contribution, each donation from community members will have twice the impact.
Ameren will match donations made between now and Nov. 30 or until donations reach $200,000, whichever comes first. Last year, Ameren’s challenge grant propelled the foodbank to raise an additional $289,000. Donate now at stlfoodbank.org/thanks4giving.
“Everyone should have the opportunity to gather with family and friends to celebrate the holidays together surrounded by healthy and nutritious food, and this year, far too many families are working even harder each day to make ends meet,” said Meredith Knopp, president and CEO of the St. Louis Area Foodbank. “Thanks to the incredible generosity of our friends and partners at Ameren, thousands of families across the bi-state region will be able to celebrate the holidays with a table full of food, family and friends.”
Each year, the St. Louis Area Foodbank distributes between 40 and 50 million meals to neighbors in need across 26 counties in Missouri and Illinois. The need continues to grow, and the foodbank distributed 11% more food in 2022 than 2021. However, increasing food and fuel costs and decreases in food donations have created added challenges to ensuring local families are fed in 2023.
The Ameren Corporation Charitable Trust was established in 1944 to serve as a principal source of the company’s philanthropic investments in community projects and programs. Allocations from the Trust’s AmerenCares program come entirely from corporate earnings.
About the St. Louis Area Foodbank
The St. Louis Area Foodbank began its service to the community in 1975. Through a robust network of community partners and programs throughout 26 counties in Missouri and Illinois, the Foodbank helps provide access to food and resources to individuals facing food insecurity. More than 400,000 people in the bi-state region rely on the Foodbank for assistance each year. For 48 years, the St. Louis Area Foodbank has been there for people dealing with crisis, be it a natural disaster, a global pandemic, or the everyday crisis of food or nutritional insecurity. For more information about the work of the St. Louis Area Foodbank or for resources for those in need, call (314) 292-6262 or visit STLFoodbank.org or follow us at @STLFoodbank, https://www.facebook.com/stlfoodbank or https://www.linkedin.com/company/st-louis-area-foodbank/
About Ameren Corporation
St. Louis-based Ameren Corporation powers the quality of life for 2.4 million electric customers and more than 900,000 natural gas customers in a 64,000square-mile area through its Ameren Missouri and Ameren Illinois rate-regulated utility subsidiaries. Ameren Illinois provides electric transmission and distribution service and natural gas distribution service. Ameren Missouri provides electric generation, transmission and distribution services, as well as natural gas distribution service. Ameren Transmission Company of Illinois develops, owns and operates rate-regulated regional electric transmission projects in the Midcontinent Independent System Operator, Inc. For more information, visit Ameren.com, or follow us at @AmerenCorp, Facebook.com/AmerenCorp, or LinkedIn.com/company/Ameren.
