Thanks to a nationwide shopping center more underprivileged Dallas County residents will have access to food. 

Walmart announced Thursday in a press release that the Selma’s Fathers of St. Edmund Southern Missions organization received approximately $45,000 of the $25 million Walmart donated to Alabama charities this past fiscal year. The Catholic nonprofit organization, which supplies the necessities to the unfortunate, used the grant money to purchase a food delivery truck used to transport 200 meals daily to homebound elders.

“It is a wonderful gift to the Edmundite Missions and our ministry and certainly is a great benefit to the folks in the community that are receiving the meals,” said Chad McEachern, the president and CEO of Edmundite Missions.

He said this is the first year that Edmundite Missions has received a Walmart grant.

McEachern said the organization depend heavily on the trucks, which cost $44,000 on average, to distribute meals, because a portion of the low-income individuals who need service from Selma Edmundite Missions are not always able to visit the Edmundite Missions’ Center of Hope to receive them.

“Obviously, it enables our Meals of Hope delivery services,” McEachern said.

According to the statements Walmart representatives made in a press release, those with the shopping center take pride in helping those in need.

As of January 2014, Walmart and the Walmart Foundation have donated 1.58 billion pounds of food, which is the equivalent of approximately 1.32 billion meals. They have also awarded $260 million in grants to hunger relief programs in the country.

“Walmart is very passionate about serving the less fortunate in our community,” said John Tow, Walmart regional general manager in Alabama.” We value the local organizations like food banks and others that work to provide hunger relief to thousands of Alabamians in need, and we are pleased to assist those organizations both monetarily and through the donation of food, including fresh fruits and vegetables.”