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
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SOURCE Spire Inc.