Walmart gives $20,000 to free meal program
To help meet critical needs resulting from the coronavirus pandemic, Walmart offered a big hand Tuesday in the form of a big check — $20,000 payable to the First English Lutheran Church of Butler.
The money will be used to provide free meals to Butler County's needy, whose ranks have swelled due to the effects of COVID-19.
“What we wanted to do today was to surprise the church and basically say, 'Thank you for what you do,'” said Angela Fleeger, market manager of Walmart's North Pittsburgh area.
The donation, she added, would help the church “continue to do the great work” it does.
“Walmart does a lot to support the communities throughout the year,” she said. “Knowing that there was some difficulty out there, we wanted to give back in a bigger way for Butler County.”
At a morning gathering outside First English Lutheran Church, 241 N. Main St., Fleeger passed the ceremonial check to Mary Ann Swanson, a church official.
“There are no words to express how much gratitude we have had for you, for God, for this community who have been so supportive of so many things that happen here in Butler County,” Swanson said.
One of a team of four coordinators for the church, Swanson and the others will come up with a plan on how best to use the money.
“We have not made a (final) decision yet because it's just been so new,” she said, referring to the donation.
But those funds, she noted, will be shared with other churches that provide community dinners.
In reaction to COVID-19, First Lutheran and four other churches in Butler have made available free bagged meals to go, one night a week.
The other participating churches are St. Paul Roman Catholic Church, 128 McKean St.; Saint Andrew United Presbyterian Church, 201 E. Jefferson St.; St. Mark's Lutheran Church, 201 W. Jefferson St.; and First United Methodist Church, 215 N. McKean St.
Still more churches in the county also are providing community meals for the needy.
Swanson said that between 100 and 200 people, sometimes more, are served each week at First English.
At Tuesday's check presentation, Fleeger recognized the efforts of Sam Zurzolo, vice president of the Butler Township commissioners.
“I worked with Sam when we initially wanted to do something bigger for the community,” she said, “and he made the suggestion that we get with First English and the (other) churches.”
She called Zurzolo “a community champion for Butler” and the “perfect guy” to help facilitate the Walmart donation.
Because of “the good that they do here,” First English Lutheran Church was the ideal choice to receive and disburse the money, Zurzolo said.
He praised the church's longtime service of feeding the needy.
“We got a lot of homeless here, and now with the pandemic coming down, it's put a lot of people out of work,” he said. “A lot of people are living paycheck to paycheck. This (money) is going to get them food.”
