Key Points
- The only food bank in El Paso, Texas, has expanded its capacity to get food to people in need across a three-county area.
- The El Pasoans Fighting Hunger food bank took delivery of the tractor portion of a semi-truck donated by Marathon Petroleum and its midstream component, MPLX.
- The tractor will be used daily to haul trailers of frozen and non-perishable food to pantries, shelters and distribution events.
The tractor portion of a semi-truck that delivered fuels for years is now hauling cargo of a much different kind: food for people in need in the El Paso, Texas, area. The El Pasoans Fighting Hunger (EPFH) food bank recently received the vehicle as a donation to expand its capacity to supply partner pantries and distribution sites across three counties.
“Every mile matters,” said EPFH CEO Kris Yagel. “This truck helps us reach more neighbors, strengthen our partnerships and ensure food gets where it’s needed most.”
The donation from Marathon Petroleum Corporation (MPC) involved its El Paso refinery and midstream segment, MPLX, which provided the unit from a fleet in its Transport & Rail component. This effort is an outgrowth of the refinery’s ongoing assistance to the food bank, which includes annual grants and employee volunteer support of monthly food distributions on refinery grounds.
“Many of our employees grew up here in El Paso, and our refinery is deeply connected to the community and with El Pasoans Fighting Hunger in particular, so we look for ways to make substantial impacts,” El Paso Vice President of Refining Les Davis said. “The additional ability that this donation brings will truly make many people's lives better. It will be exciting to see the blue MPC semi out in the community doing the food bank’s great work.”
As El Paso's only food bank, EPFH is the distribution center for almost 100 partner pantries. In 2024 alone, the food bank distributed 110 million pounds of food across El Paso, Hudspeth and Culberson counties.
“The tractor just came off active duty, and we removed the telematics and camera system and then detailed the unit,” said MPLX Transport Asset Reliability Manager Sam McCullough. “It’s great knowing that this tractor will be used daily to move food more efficiently to local distribution events and shelters.”
Depending upon the logistical needs of a given day, the tractor will be paired with different trailers to carry food. These include a refrigerated trailer that the El Paso refinery donated to EPFH several years ago.
“The refrigerated trailer has been put to great use, and adding a tractor is a natural extension of our efforts to increase deliveries that benefit families, seniors and children,” said El Paso Refinery Principal Corporate Social Responsibility & Community Relations Representative V.J. Smith. “We are honored to be in position to help the food bank expand its reach.”
