La Crosse TV station WLAX-TV is donating $5,000 to The Hunger Task Force of La Crosse through the Nexstar Media Charitable Foundation.
For 23 years, The Hunger Task Force has provided a safety net of emergency food to a network of local food pantries and meal programs serving western Wisconsin. It is the only free and local food bank in the La Crosse area and charges nothing for the food it distributes and delivers.
WLAX-TV has partnered with the Task Force on many events, with staff volunteering to work at the Kane Street Gardens and selling T-shirts to help with fundraising. In addition, the station has aired a variety of public service announcements on behalf of the Task Force and partnered with the organization on a 2020 food drive that raised more than $200,000 and 60,000 pounds of food for the needy.
“We are so very fortunate to have been a long-time partner with WLAX-TV in helping to keep our neighbors fed,” said Shelly Fortner, Executive Director of The Hunger Task Force of La Crosse. “Their commitment to community is a blessing to those in need. The pandemic added extra challenges, so to have their support has made a huge difference in allowing us to serve people, uninterrupted, in the safest, most effective and most efficient way possible.”
“The Hunger Task Force makes a real difference in La Crosse and throughout the region, and for many families it makes the difference between putting food on the table and going hungry,” said Jud Beck, Vice President and General Manager of WLAX-TV. “We are proud of our long association with the Task Force, and grateful for everything it provides for those who are in need of help. Giving back to the communities served by Nexstar across the country is core to the company’s mission, and we are proud that the Nexstar Media Foundation will make this donation in recognition of the deep relationship between WLAX-TV, its employees, and the Task Force.”
The Nexstar Media Charitable Foundation’s mission is to contribute to and work with public charities and non-profit organizations to improve the communities in which Nexstar Media and its subsidiaries do business. The foundation was originally established in 1958 and it makes donations of approximately $350,000 annually.
