$100,000 Donation from Green Mountain Energy™ Sun Club™ Serves Up Solar Power to the Houston Food Bank
Houston, TX (PRWEB) June 17, 2014 -- Today the Houston Food Bank celebrated a $100,000 donation from the Green Mountain Energy™ Sun Club™ for a solar installation that will help power its facilities with renewable energy from the sun. This solar project will help reduce the non-profit’s energy costs year after year and support its work to serve more than 74 million meals annually to those in need. The Houston Food Bank is the largest Food Bank in the nation, according to recent reports from Feeding America.
“The massive size of our warehouse and distribution center provides a major advantage toward the amount of food we can house and distribute to the community – it’s also a big driver of our electricity usage, which is one of our largest operating costs,” said Brian Greene, Houston Food Bank President/CEO. “With the help of the solar array from the Sun Club, we’re taking a sustainable approach to our financial and environmental footprint, all resulting in providing more families with the healthy meals they need.”
The Sun Club is a unique program enabling Green Mountain Energy Company, its employees, supporters and residential customers – including many in the Houston area – to donate solar power to non-profit organizations like the Houston Food Bank.
“One of the main goals of the Sun Club, aside from helping non-profits reduce their environmental footprint, is to make sure we’re enabling them to better serve their communities,” said Tony Napolillo, Sun Club program manager, Green Mountain Energy Company. “When the Houston Food Bank applied for this solar grant, we knew the donation would make a significant, direct, and positive long-term impact on the city’s underserved population. Solar energy is already used to grow the food. Now it’s also going to be used to distribute nutritious meals to those in Houston who need it most.”
The Sun Club reviews hundreds of non-profits’ applications for solar grants annually. The Houston Food Bank was selected because of its mission and outstanding contributions to the Houston area, as well as its interest in protecting the environment and educating the community on solar energy.
Sun Club applications are currently being evaluated for 2015 donations. Non-profit organizations are encouraged to apply online at greenmountainenergy.com/sun-club.
Pictures of the donation presentation ceremony will be added to Green Mountain Energy’s Flickr stream: http://www.flickr.com/photos/greenmtnenergy/
Houston Food Bank
The Houston Food Bank is the largest source of food for hunger relief charities in 18 southeast Texas counties. Through a network of 600 food pantries, soup kitchens, senior centers and other agencies, 137,000 people are fed each week.
Fresh produce, meat and nonperishables are distributed from the 308,000 square-foot warehouse at 535 Portwall and meals for kids are prepared and distributed from Keegan Center, a 15,000 square-foot industrial kitchen. Additional community services include nutrition education, school-based programs, food stamp applications and hands-on job training.
Founded in 1982, the Houston Food Bank is a certified member of Feeding America, the nation’s food bank network.
Website: http://www.HoustonFoodBank.org
Facebook: facebook.com/HoustonFoodBank
Twitter: @HoustonFoodBank
Youtube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/houstonfoodbank
Green Mountain Energy™ Sun Club™
Green Mountain Energy™ Sun Club™ is a program empowering Green Mountain Energy Company, its residential customers and employees to donate solar power to sustainably minded non-profit organizations. Since the program’s founding in 2002, the Sun Club has donated more than $3 million to help install over 650 kilowatts of solar power, which has the potential to avoid more than 1.2 million pounds of carbon dioxide emissions each year. That’s like planting 140 trees every year.
For more information or to contribute to the Sun Club, visit greenmountainenergy.com/sun-club.
Green Mountain Energy Company
Green Mountain is the nation’s longest serving renewable energy retailer and believes in using wind, sun and water for good. The company was founded in 1997 with the mission to “change the way power is made.” Green Mountain offers consumers and businesses the choice of cleaner electricity products from renewable sources, as well as a variety of carbon offset products and sustainable solutions for businesses. One of Green Mountain’s largest customers is the “world’s most famous office building,” the Empire State Building in New York City. Green Mountain customers have collectively helped avoid more than 30.6 billion pounds of carbon dioxide emissions.
Visit us online at http://www.GreenMountain.com.
Follow us at facebook.com/greenmountainenergycompany or twitter.com/greenmtnenergy
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Caitlin Conran, Green Mountain Energy Company, http://www.greenmountain.com/, +1 (210) 386-1735, [email protected]
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