Wells Fargo surprises Harvest Hope with $50,000 donation this holiday season

December 9, 2020

Wells Fargo Region Bank President Justin Hawkins (left) and Harvest Hope Director of Operations Barry Phillips

Wells Fargo’s Region Bank President Justin Hawkins recently surprised Barry Phillips, Harvest Hope Food Bank’s director of operations, with a $50,000 donation as part of Wells Fargo’s “Many hearts. One Community.” holiday campaign.

Wells Fargo is extending its relationship with Feeding America® member food banks like Harvest Hope to help combat the sharp rise in food insecurity and ensure families have holiday meals on the table. By year-end, Wells Fargo will have helped provide 82 million meals* to families in need in 2020. Wells Fargo will also contribute $250,000 to nonprofits feeding families in need in countries across the company’s global footprint.

Feeding America®, the largest domestic hunger-relief organization in the country, estimates that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, 1 in 6 people in the U.S. may experience food insecurity this year. That’s an increase of 46% compared to 2018, and nearly 40% of those currently seeking food bank assistance are first-timers.

Over the past four years, Wells Fargo has teamed up with Feeding America to help provide millions of meals to families in need. In 2019, the Wells Fargo Holiday Food Bank program helped provide more than 71 million meals through donations and collected food. Locally, we teamed up with Harvest Hope this summer and turned the parking lot at one of our branches into a food distribution center, serving nearly 55,000 meals to 1,500 families.