The Watonwan Farm Service Co. energy division committed to making a donation to area food shelves of one-half cent per gallon on its propane sales Dec. 1 to Nov. 30, 2014.

With normal annual propane sales of 6 to 7 million gallons, the donation in whole will total approximately $35,000.

Knowing that the holiday season is a difficult time for many food shelves, WFS made a donation in advance in the amount of $20,000 in anticipation of its propane sales for the coming months.

“With the present economic conditions, we felt that donating to area food shelves was a good way to support the many communities we serve,” said Randy Cole, WFS vice president of energy. “We know that there are a lot of people struggling right now, especially this time of year. We just want to do what we can to make this coming year better for everyone.”

Through WFS’s affiliation with Land O’Lakes, matching funds were granted through the Land O’Lakes Foundation Feeding our Communities program. They too made an initial contribution of $20,000 and will match funds again when WFS make their final calculations for their committed donation at the end of November 2014. The final contributions will be made by Dec. 15, 2014.

WFS is a farmer-owned cooperative operating facilities throughout south central Minnesota and north central Iowa for more than 4,000 members.