United Airlines comes to aid of Houston Food Bank

HOUSTON – United Airlines on Wednesday came to the aid of the Houston Food Bank which was forced to throw out massive amounts of food last week after a cooler malfunctioned.

Officials at the food bank said a fan in a 30,000-square-foot cooler broke and caused an ammonia leak. The 1.8 million pounds of perishable food and produce that was kept inside was contaminated and had to be tossed.

“That equates to about 62 truck-loads of product,” said Nicole Lander, the food bank’s chief impact officer. “So, when you think of a semi-truck, the big trucks that you see on the highway, on average about 20 pallets fit in each of those trucks.”

Officials at United Airlines said the company would match up to $100,000 in individual donations to the food bank.

United MileagePlus members who donate $50 or more will receive up to 1,000 award miles for their donation, officials said.

“United values the Houston Food Bank as a strong community partner and we understand that they serve as an important lifeline to so many Houstonians, especially around the holidays,” said Rodney Cox, United’s vice president for Houston hub operations. “United wants to do everything we can to support their recovery, so we are proud to share that we will utilize our own resources, which includes thousands of generous Houston employees, customers and MileagePlus customers who stand ready to support local communities in need.”

United customers can participate in the donation drive by going to Charity.GoFundMe.com/UnitedSupportsHFB.