Southwest Gas Foundation and Southwest Gas Employees Partner with St. Mary’s Food Bank to Pack over 44,000 Meals to Tackle Hunger During Critical Summer Months
Category: Arizona
July 26, 2025
The Foundation and employees presented donation checks totaling $85,000 during
employee volunteer event
employee volunteer event
PHOENIX, AZ (July 26, 2025) — Over 100 Southwest Gas employees rolled up their sleeves to support St. Mary’s Food Bank and provide nutritious meals to those facing food insecurity. The team, which is part of the company’s BLUE (Building Lives Up Everywhere) volunteer program, assembled nearly 5,000 emergency food boxes at St. Mary’s Food Bank on July 26 that contained over 44,000 meals.
The effort came as Arizona experiences extreme heat during the summer months when volunteerism historically dips. During the event, the Southwest Gas Foundation along with Southwest Gas employees also presented St. Mary's Food Bank with checks totaling $85,000 from the company’s FUEL for LIFE employee giving program to help the non-profit continue its mission to provide nourishment throughout Arizona communities. These funds alone will provide 425,000 nutritious meals for those in need.
“We’re incredibly grateful to have Southwest Gas as a long-standing partner in the fight against hunger,” said St. Mary’s Food Bank President and CEO Milt Liu. “Their volunteers bring energy, compassion and a true commitment to community every time they walk through our doors. Whether they’re packing emergency food boxes or donating critical funds, they continue to show up when our neighbors need them most.”
On average, St. Mary’s provides 1,000 food boxes too hungry families and emergency items such as Gatorade, water, and shelf-stable food to an additional 150 unhoused individuals daily at its main location in Phoenix. In all, it distributes more than 300,000 meals daily to its partner agencies throughout Arizona and assists with unique needs such as refrigerated vans.
The funds presented at the event will help support the Phoenix-based food bank and provide support to those in the community and St. Mary’s network partner agencies. Over the past 15 years, Southwest Gas has donated over $500,000 to St. Mary’s through its Foundation and employee giving program.
“We’re proud to stand beside St. Mary’s to help ensure families and individuals facing food insecurity have the resources they need, especially during the hottest and hardest months of the year,” said Brad Harris, Southwest Gas Regional Vice President. “Together, we’re making a difference one meal, one volunteer shift, and one donation at a time.”
Partnerships with organizations such as St. Mary’s Food Bank reflect Southwest Gas’ commitment to building strong, resilient communities through volunteerism, charitable giving, and community engagement while empowering Southwest Gas’ employees to actively contribute to the well-being of their neighbors.
For more information on Southwest Gas’ charitable giving, please visit www.swgas.com. To learn more about St. Mary’s Food Bank, visit StMarysFoodBank.org.
About Southwest Gas
Southwest Gas Corporation is a dynamic energy company committed to exceeding the expectations of our over two million customers throughout Arizona, California, and Nevada by providing safe and reliable service while innovating sustainable energy solutions to fuel our communities’ growth. For more information about how Southwest Gas is supporting a safe, sustainable energy future, please visit swgas.com.
About St. Mary’s Food Bank
As the world’s first food bank, St. Mary’s Food Bank has been providing food to Arizonans in need since 1967. St. Mary’s serves 76,000 square miles of Arizona, distributing enough food for more than 250,000 meals each day. In addition to providing food to more than 800 nonprofit partners such as homeless shelters, senior centers, schools, and faith-based organizations, St. Mary’s offers direct client services through large-scale food pantries in Phoenix, Surprise and Chinle. St. Mary’s reaches rural and remote communities with mobile pantries and distributes culturally relevant food to Tribal communities. St. Mary’s also supports homebound individuals with home deliveries and prepares and delivers meals to children in afterschool and summer programs. In addition to distributing food, St. Mary’s offers culinary and warehouse training to adults with barriers to employment seeking a path to self-sufficiency. Students also receive life skills training and extended job placement services. St. Mary’s has been recognized by Charity Navigator as a Four-Star Charity, by Phoenix Business Journal as the largest Arizona nonprofit for Social Services, and by Forbes as one of America’s Top 100 Charities. St. Mary’s Food Bank is a member of Feeding America and the Arizona Food Bank Network. Website: StMarysFoodBank.org. Phone: 602-242-FOOD (3663).
Media Contacts:
Southwest Gas
St. Mary’s Food Bank
