The Medina Electric Cooperative Operation Round Up (ORU) program awarded two food banks a total of $7,000 in response to an increase in ORU applications asking for help purchasing food and other basic necessities.
MEC’s ORU committee awarded the San Antonio Food Bank with $4,000 to provide assistance and food to pantries in Atascosa, Edwards, Frio, La Salle, Medina, Real, Uvalde and Zavala counties.
In addition to food, the San Antonio Food Bank assists with completing paperwork for government assistance programs including SNAP, WIC, and others.
The ORU committee also voted to donate $3,000 to the South Texas Food Bank in Laredo, which provides food assistance in six of MEC’s 17 counties including Dimmit, Jim Hogg, Kinney, Starr, Webb and Zapata counties.
MEC offers the Operation Round Up program for members of the cooperative to round up their monthly electric bills to the next whole dollar. That extra change then goes into a fund managed by the Operation Round Up Trust Committee and is awarded quarterly to individuals and organizations in need across its 17-county service territory.
Applicants do not need to be members of MEC but must reside in one of the 17 counties served by the cooperative.
