A local food bank and education program have been awarded a share of a $450,000 grant from the Mazda Foundation.

The Huntsville-based Food Bank of North Alabama and the AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) Center in Madison are among four organizations named Wednesday to receive assistance as part of the foundation’s yearly grant giving. The grants aim to address food insecurity and equitable access to education. Also named were Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County (Irvine, Calif.) and FUSE Studio (funding a program in Southern California).

The Food Bank was awarded a $50,000 grant to help it meet continued record demand for food. The funds will enable the Food Bank of North Alabama to serve 350,000 meals to residents across several North Alabama counties.

“In the wake of the pandemic, we are witnessing a demand for food assistance that is truly extraordinary,” said Jeff Guyton, president of Mazda North American Operations and chairman of the Mazda Foundation. “We are pleased to continue our partnership with the Food Bank of North Alabama to help them address the challenges that too many Alabamians face.”

The Mazda Foundation has partnered with the Food Bank of North Alabama since 2019, and this latest award brings the total financial support to $194,000.

“The Food Bank of North Alabama is thankful for the continued generous support from the Mazda Foundation, which is enabling us to continue to respond to the current crisis by providing a record number of meals to struggling families in our community,” said Shirley Schofield, executive director of the Food Bank of North Alabama.

The foundation also awarded a $150,000 grant to AVID Center to establish AVID’s college and career readiness
program in four Madison City schools.

“We are honored by the opportunity the Mazda Foundation has afforded us to bring AVID back to the greater Huntsville area and look forward to reaching even more students through this generous award,” said AVID Chief Executive Officer Dr. Sandy Husk.

The award will support one of the communities surrounding Mazda’s newest facility, Mazda Toyota Manufacturing in Huntsville, a joint venture with Toyota that will employ 4,000 people in the greater Huntsville area.

“Too many people lack basic access to the tools and support needed to successfully compete in our increasingly complex economy,” Guyton said. “Providing necessary support to underserved students is a clear expression of the Mazda Foundation’s guiding principle: what matters most is one another.”

The grants to the food banks aim to increase the delivery of food to families in need at a time that demand has skyrocketed, with recent estimates placing that increase at more than 60 percent since March 2020, the release said.

The AVID program helps students with study skills, academic guidance, career ideas, and other important topics for first-generation college students. The award will ensure underserved students have the opportunity not only to be admitted to college, but to succeed once they arrive.