HELPING OUT — Michelle Snyder, right, provider contracting consultant, and fellow Highmark employees load barrels with snack bags for Mountaineer Food Bank’s Veterans Table program Wednesday at Highmark’s West Virginia corporate headquarters in Parkersburg. Highmark also announced its (un)Hungry campaign to fight food insecurity. -- Evan Bevins

PARKERSBURG — Highmark unveiled a new campaign aimed at combatting food insecurity Wednesday at its West Virginia headquarters in Parkersburg, where employees packed snack bags for veterans.

The (un)Hungry program is envisioned as an annual effort to raise awareness and complement existing food and monetary donations during the holiday season, according to a press release from Highmark. The company is partnering with West Virginia’s two largest food banks, Mountaineer and Facing Hunger.

“Food insecurity is a pervasive challenge that impacts the health and well-being of our communities, and Highmark has been actively addressing this challenge for years,” said Kenya T. Boswell, senior vice president of community affairs for Highmark Health and president of the Highmark Foundation. “With (un)Hungry, we are igniting a movement that builds on our significant ongoing efforts and our long-standing partnerships with regional food banks. It takes a neighborhood to feed a neighborhood, and we are committed to uniting communities to provide resources to and connect those in need with essential resources and nourishment and contributing to a future free from food insecurity.”

The campaign features a two-minute animated film, which can be viewed on YouTube, that shows children and a loyal bulldog rallying their neighborhood to support a struggling family.

“This is just hopefully going to drive food donations and monetary donations at the holidays,” Aaron Arnold, strategic business development and policy manager for Facing Hunger Foodbank, said of the (un)Hungry program.

The release from Highmark cites statistics from Feeding America showing 47.7 million Americans experienced food insecurity in 2023, representing 14.3% of households. Households with children are at the highest risk, with 19.2% of households experiencing food insecurity.

In West Virginia, approximately 15.7% of households were food insecure in 2023, which is second in the nation, the release said. This affects over 277,000 people, including 71,140 children, with the state ranking first nationally for childhood food insecurity.

Highmark employees backed up the talk with action, packing more than 1,400 holiday snack bags to be distributed through Mountaineer Food Bank’s Veterans Table program, which provides monthly food boxes for veterans with no income requirement.

“When I think of Highmark, I think of people being in this room and doing stuff just like this,” said Jason Landers, president of Highmark Health Options WV.

He encouraged employees to share what they did and continue to help entities that address hunger.

“We don’t want people to be hungry, so let’s do what we can do to support them,” Landers said.

Chad Morrison, CEO of Mountaineer Food Bank, said the Thanksgiving and Christmas season is a time of increased need for local food pantries, even without the recent disruptions in SNAP funding caused by the federal government shutdown.

“People have to rethink how they’re using the money that they do have,” he said, noting utility bills increase and children are out of school, reducing their access to regular meals.

Morrison praised the support that food banks have received from donors and the state during this time and emphasized that volunteers at local food pantries are the foundation of these efforts.

“They’ve been doing everything they can to get food (to) their neighbors,” he said.

Even with the shutdown on the verge of being resolved, Morrison said, there will be challenges as some programs get up and running again and the seasonal needs persist.

More information about Highmark’s initiative, the video and opportunities to donate can be found at unhungry.org.