Joe Smith of Good Shepherd Church loads up food bought at the Plum Street Piggly Wiggly store through donations collected during the store’s 20 Days of Giving initiative to help and support local food banks. All the local Piggly Wiggly stores, owned and operated by Grant’s Hometown Markets, participated in the initiative with a variety of food banks being supported throughout the local community. (Photo Provided)

PARKERSBURG – A local grocery group raised money to provide food this holiday season through its annual 20 Days of Giving initiative.

The Plum Street Piggly Wiggly store this week presented around four pallets of food to local food banks which had been bought with donations from customers during the month of November.

The five Piggly Wigglys in Parkersburg, Vienna and The Plains participated in the program started about 17 years ago by Grant’s Hometown Grocery LLC of Mercer County. Grant’s purchased the local stores from Jim Oppe in 2021 and also owns and operates 15 Grant’s IGA Supermarkets with locations in southern West Virginia and southwest Virginia.

From Nov. 1 to Nov. 20, the 20 Days of Giving initiative involved customers of the grocery stores being asked to make a donation of around $5 to support local food banks, said Bill Witkosky, area supervisor for Grant’s Hometown Markets.

“It all stays local here in town,” he said. “They take that dollar amount and turn it into food to give to local food banks.”

Joe Smith of Good Shepherd Church, Jim Spencer of Parkersburg Urban Ministries, Rob Nutter, co-manager of the Plum Street Piggly Wiggly store, Mark Edwards of Trinity Episcopal Church and Bill Witkosky, area supervisor for Grant’s Hometown Markets which owns and operates the local Piggly Wiggly stores, gathered at the Plum Street Piggly Wiggly store Monday for the presentation of four pallets of food purchased from donations through Grant’s Hometown Markets’ 20 Days of Giving initiative which helps local food banks. (Photo Provided)

Items bought with the donations included a lot of non-perishable items, including cereals, canned vegetables, canned tuna, pastas, sauces, corn muffin mixes, juices and more, Witkosky said.

The Plum Street store is helping Good Shepherd Church, Parkersburg Urban Ministries and Trinity Episcopal Church in the local area.

The other local stores have churches and food banks they help support throughout the local community, Witkosky said.

Officials were not releasing the dollar amount raised at the local stores.

“The stores do it to help the community and those in need,” Witkosky said.

Contact Brett Dunlap at bdunlap@newsandsentinel.com