Tesoro Corp. is teaming up with local Meals On Wheels programs to donate two cents of every gallon of gasoline sold at its more than 450 Tesoro locations during August 17-19. Tesoro is teaming with 15 local Meals on Wheels programs to help raise public awareness about the issue of senior hunger in America and to provide funding to those programs to better serve homebound seniors within their communities. Tesoro is also donating $2,500 in fuel cards to each of the 15 programs to be used by the programs and their volunteers to purchase gasoline needed to make deliveries.

Local Meals On Wheels programs and other senior nutrition programs serve more than one million meals per day. But it is estimated that two million more meals are needed daily to meet the current need. The programs rely on volunteers to deliver meals, and in many cases the volunteers are senior citizens on fixed incomes. In recent months, some volunteers have reduced their participation or dropped out of the program entirely, resulting in cutbacks in meal deliveries to frail seniors in some areas of the country.

Tesoro has pledged a minimum contribution of $100,000 to 15 local Meals on Wheels and senior nutrition programs throughout the three-day campaign. During the campaign, two cents of every gallon of gasoline sold will be donated to the local programs. Funds will be divided based on the number of seniors served by each program.

The $100,000 will be presented as a charitable donation to the 15 local Meals on Wheels programs located in the following locations: Kenai, Anchorage and Fairbanks, Ala.; Spokane and Tri-Cities, Wash.; Pocatello, Idaho; Salt Lake City and St. George, Utah; Honolulu, Hawaii; Mandan, Fargo and Grand Forks, N.D.; Detroit Lakes and Avon, Minn.; and Atascadero, Calif.

“We are happy to partner with Meals on Wheels for this worthwhile charitable cause and hope that our leadership will encourage other companies in our industry to help support the organization,” said Bill Finnerty, executive vice president and chief operating officer for Tesoro Corporation. “Our goal is to fuel the organization’s delivery cars and trucks and encourage volunteers to continue to provide the much needed food to their recipients.”