Cleveland-Cliffs employees donated more than 130,000 pounds of food to the needy in Northwest Indiana during the steelmaker’s fifth annual Souper Bowl Food Drive.
The Cleveland-based steelmaker and mining company collected more than 415,000 pounds of non-perishable food at 50 of its operations nationwide during the campaign last month.
The Cleveland-Cliffs Indiana Harbor Works and Burns Harbor Works steel mills donated the equivalent of more than 130,000 lbs. of food to the Northwest Indiana Food Bank in terms of both canned foods and cash donations, Cleveland-Cliffs Corporate Communications Senior Director Patricia Persico said.
The Cleveland-Cliffs Foundation also is donating $270,000 to 45 food distribution organizations around the country. It will make a $52,200 donation to the Northwest Indiana Food Bank, Persico said.
The funding is coming at a needed time, Food Bank of Northwest Indiana Executive Director Victor A. Garcia said.
“The Food Bank is extremely grateful for our friends at Cliffs. Given some of the uncertainty we are experiencing with federal foods and funding, it is great to know that our community will continue to step up to help each other out,” he said.
In Illinois, the Cleveland-Cliffs Riverdale steel mill donated 1,230 lbs. of food to Restoration Ministries, Persico said. The Cleveland-Cliffs Foundation will give it $2,500.
“Food insecurity and affordability remain pressing issues in many communities. As a major employer in many towns, Cleveland-Cliffs is committed to making a meaningful impact,” Cleveland-Cliffs’ Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Lourenco Goncalves said. “Over the past five years, we have contributed more than $3 million to organizations dedicated to fighting hunger. This year, our employees once again rose to the challenge – not just in their work, but in their communities – by collecting an impressive 415,000 pounds of non-perishable food items. We are proud to support 45 food distribution organizations that provide vital resources to individuals and families in need.”