ExxonMobil Gives Houston Restaurants a Much-Needed Lifeline

04/15/2020

Irving oil major Exxon Mobil is giving Houston-area food banks, restaurants and first responders dealing with the coronavirus pandemic a $450,000 boost through the company's new "Meals & Masks" program. The company has donated $250,000 to the Houston Food Bank and Montgomery County Food Bank, which will provide an estimated 1 million meals to Houston area residents.

Exxon Mobil is also donating $100,000 to the TX Restaurant Relief Fund, which contracts local restaurants to prepare and deliver 6,000 meals for first responders and other frontline workers. Exxon Mobil also is donating $100,000 worth of face masks and other protective gear to Texas Medical Center member hospitals, the Houston Police Foundation, the Fire Fighters Foundation of Houston and the Spring Fire Department.

Emily Williams Knight, CEO of the Texas Restaurant Association and Education Foundation, said the donation is a life line to some Houston area restaurants. “Through this initiative, participating restaurants will be able to hire back up to 50 percent of their furloughed employees," Knight said. "This donation demonstrates that by working together we can keep the heartbeat of our communities – food and medicine – in service for all." Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner agreed. "Houston is a foodie town, and our restaurants reflect the city's diverse culinary tastes and vibrant culture," Turner said. "The COVID-19 public health crisis is having a devastating effect on the men and women who work in the foodservice industry. I applaud ExxonMobil for its generous donation to assist restaurants and to feed first responders."