Social Media May Help Local Food Bank Win $1M

An initiative to support the city of El Paso through social media is under way.

El Pasoans Fighting Hunger, formerly known as the West Texas Food Bank, announced Thursday it is in the running to win $1 million.

It is part of Wal-Mart’s Fighting Hunger Together competition.

El Paso is one of 200 food banks chosen across the country with the highest unemployment rates to compete for the prize money.

Officials with El Pasoans Fighting Hunger say the organization is now the only source of emergency food supply for El Paso, Hudspeth and Culberson counties.

The winner will be determined by how many Facebook votes a food bank receives.

Last year, the El Paso organization donated more than 6.5 million pounds of food to 60,000 individuals.

Executive director Ruben Sanchez said dwindling donations are making it difficult to keep pantries full.

“We’re looking to get to the 200,000 individuals we need to meet the needs of all of El Paso,” said Sanchez.

If the million-dollar prize is given to our community, the food bank will share the wealth with Hudspeth and Culberson counties.

Facebook users can go online and vote for the Sun City.

Voting is under way and will continue until April 30.

“Get on Facebook and vote for us, it’s easy. Do it once a day and you’ll see the results,” said Sanchez.