MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — “Giving Tuesday” may be over, but that doesn’t mean you can’t help some of your favorite local charities.
Empty Bowls Monongalia is one of several organizations fundraising during the holiday season ahead of their annual Spring Gala.
“Most people would be surprised to know that there are about 16,000 people in Mon County who aren’t sure where, perhaps, their next meal will come from,” Elaine McVay, President of Empty Bowls, said Tuesday on WAJR’s Morgantown AM. “Or if they’re going to make a choice between paying the electric bill or having food on the table for their family.”
The organization’s goal is to both raise the profile of food insecurity among the public while also helping those dealing with food insecurity.
“Empty Bowls is dedicated to eliminating that and making sure people have good nutritious food to eat,” McVay said.
Highlighting the differences between hunger and food insecurity is part of the core mission of the organization.
“There’s a difference between hunger and food insecurity,” McVay said. “And the face of the food insecure person is maybe they have a job, however their benefits might not be significant or they may have unexpected medical issues that they have to deal with. And that puts them at risk of being hungry.”
McVay praised the work of the hundreds of volunteers who helped distribute a major donation of fruits and vegetables into the community.
“You might think a few bags of oranges don’t mean that much,” she said. “But to some people that’s a real treat to have that. We work very closely with the agencies, and when we have opportunities to get those kind of items in, we send them out in the community so that Mon County residents can enjoy them.”