H-E-B And Chairman Charles Butt Donate $1 Million To Texas Wildfire Recovery
The Smokehouse Creek Fire has burned more than 1 million acres of the Texas Panhandle and is still only 15% contained. It is the largest wildfire in state history.
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Jordan Vonderhaar/Bloomberg via Getty Images
In the spirit of Texans helping Texans, the Lone Star State’s favorite homegrown grocery store has announced a $1 million donation to help Panhandle residents and first responders suffering through the largest wildfire in state history.
H-E-B and its chairman, Charles Butt, have each donated $500,000 to support recovery efforts and nonprofits responding to the wildfires. Butt’s money will go to the STAR Fund (State of Texas Agriculture Relief Fund), which aids Texas farmers, ranchers, producers, and agribusiness owners impacted by natural disasters.
“Our hearts go out to all those impacted by this disaster, which has grown to become the largest wildfire event in the state’s history,” Winell Herron, H-E-B Group Vice President of Public Affairs, Diversity, and Environmental Affairs, said in a statement. “At H-E-B, we’re here to serve all Texans. Together with our Chairman and the entire H-E-B family, we will work to ensure affected communities can recover from this tragic event.”
Since igniting in Hutchinson County last Monday, the Smokehouse Creek Fire has burned more than 1 million acres of the Texas Panhandle and is still only 15% contained. The Smokehouse Creek wildfire eventually combined with another wildfire, causing the blaze’s affected area to expand to 1.3 million acres into western Oklahoma.
H-E-B has been working with local organizations since this nightmare began.
“Since these destructive fires began, H-E-B has stayed in close contact with the High Plains Food Bank to support their critical outreach,” the company said in a news release. “With those efforts, H-E-B has provided numerous truckloads of product to the food bank, which include shelf-stable food, water, hygiene items, H-E-B Field & Future cleaning products, and other essentials.”
H-E-B also has launched a donation campaign that allows customers to give when placing an order with Favor Delivery and checking out at store registers at H-E-B, Central Market, Joe V’s Smart Shop and Mi Tienda stores.
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