ROSWELL, New Mexico (July 24, 2025) — Xcel Energy announced a $10,000 grant to Food Bank of Eastern New Mexico, a nonprofit that provides food to families in need, as part of Xcel Energy Foundation’s 2025 Employee Choice Grant awards.
Food Bank of Eastern New Mexico received the most votes from Xcel Energy employees in New Mexico. Each year, employees nominate nonprofits for the award. A panel of employees select finalists that align with the company’s values and Foundation’s focus areas, and employees statewide then vote for a single finalist.
“The Food Bank of Eastern New Mexico plays a vital role in ensuring families across the region have access to fresh and nutritious food, especially in areas where grocery options are limited,” said Adrian Rodriguez, president, Xcel Energy – New Mexico, Texas. “Their work is essential to the health and well-being of our communities, and it’s clear that our coworkers recognize and value the difference they’re making every day.”
From using Volunteer Paid Time Off to donating dollars during the company’s annual Power Your Purpose giving campaign, Xcel Energy employees are committed to showing up and connecting with their communities year after year. In 2025, the program awarded a combined $60,000 to six nonprofits. Since 2015, it has now provided nearly $450,000 toward the causes they care about most in the areas where they live and work.
Food Bank of Eastern New Mexico was founded in1983 to address food insecurity in the region and serves Curry, Roosevelt, Quay, DeBaca and Guadalupe counties.
“There are only 11 grocery stores across our service area, which means some people need to drive over an hour to get fresh produce,” says director of Food Bank of Eastern New Mexico Dianna Sprague. “We’re excited to use these grant dollars to purchase critical food sources for the families and individuals who rely on our programs.”
The Xcel Energy Foundation, the company’s charitable arm, invests in organizations within three focus areas: Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Career Pathways, Environmental Sustainability and Community Vitality. In addition to the Employee Choice Grants, the Foundation’s Focus Area Grants awarded a total of $81,000 to 11 New Mexico organizations in 2024.
Xcel Energy employees give back to their communities through a variety of ways. In 2024, employees performed 89,000 volunteer hours and gave $4.8 million to nonprofit organizations across eight states. Xcel Energy supports volunteerism by providing 40 hours of volunteer paid time off to full-time employees each year. The company’s Dollars for Doing program provides contributions to nonprofits where its employees regularly volunteer. Additionally, since 2010, Xcel Energy employees volunteer alongside one another during a Day of Service held in September.
Learn more about other ways Xcel Energy gives back to the communities it serves.
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About Xcel Energy
Xcel Energy (NASDAQ: XEL) is a leading energy provider, dedicated to serving millions of customers with excellence. We make energy work better for customers, helping them thrive every day. That means always raising the bar — delivering better service and providing more reliable, resilient and sustainable energy.
We are committed to leading the clean energy transition, meeting our customers’ need for more, cleaner power, while keeping bills as low as possible. Because the people we serve depend on us to power their lives.
Headquartered in Minneapolis, we work every day to generate and distribute electricity and gas to customers across eight states: Minnesota, Colorado, Wisconsin, Michigan, North Dakota, South Dakota, New Mexico, and Texas. For more information, visit xcelenergy.com or follow us on X, and Facebook.
About Xcel Energy Foundation
The Xcel Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization that awards charitable grants to nonprofit organizations and sponsors the volunteer programs of Xcel Energy and its subsidiaries. The majority of Xcel Energy Foundation funding comes from Xcel Energy shareholder dollars. Learn more about the Foundation’s Focus Area Grants.