Honor Sheard, HESS Manager, loads her vehicle with donations collected during a weeklong food drive at the Galveston Bay refinery for the Galveston County Food Bank.

• To fight hunger in their community, employees from Marathon Petroleum’s Galveston Bay refinery in Texas recently held a weeklong drive supporting the local food bank.
• Members of the Health, Environmental, Safety & Security (HESS) department collected 655 pounds of non-perishable goods.
• The Galveston County Food Bank estimates Marathon’s donation will provide 1,800 meals to those in need.

Employees from the Health, Environmental, Safety & Security (HESS) department at Marathon Petroleum’s Galveston Bay refinery in Texas recently came together to collect 655 pounds of food to support the Galveston County Food Bank.

According to the Food Bank, one in six residents are food insecure in Galveston County.

“We are extremely thankful to the employees at Marathon for their generous donation,” said Galveston County Food Bank President and CEO, Donnie VanAckeren. “Gifts like these are critical to our mission of feeding those most in need in our community.”

In addition to the food collection held at the refinery August 22-26, HESS team members made a contribution of $450 to the food bank.

“The food bank plays such a vital role in our community, which is why we are happy to help whenever possible to support its mission,” said Ellen Mestelske, HESS Professional at the Galveston Bay refinery.

Between the hundreds of pounds of non-perishable goods collected and the monetary donation, the Food Bank estimates they will be able to provide 1,800 meals to those in need.

"As health and safety professionals, we recognize how important it is for families to have their most basic needs filled,” said Honor Sheard, HESS Manager at Galveston Bay. “This really was a group effort to collect as many donations as possible to support our community, and I couldn’t be prouder of this team.”