Food Banks

Texas Food Banks

In Texas, 4,092,850 people are facing hunger – and of them 1,448,490 are children. Not everyone has the same access to food, so It’s incredible that Texas has resources such as food banks to help those who struggle feeding themselves and their families.If you’re someone who doesn’t find it as difficult to get food or maybe your pantry is overloaded, donate or volunteer! Getting involved in whichever way you can Is a great way to give back and help out wherever it’s needed. Out of the 21 food banks in Texas, here are some that are in the general areas.

Central Texas Food Bank

The CTFB has a mission of Putting Good Food Within Reach. Originally known as the Capital Area Food Bank Inc, some council members along with concerned Austin residents noticed a higher demand for feeding assistance and grocery stores as well as restaurants with surplus food that was going to waste. In their first year 330,000 pounds of food were taken, stored and given out.

6500 Metropolis Drive

Austin, TX 78744

(512) 282-2111

North Texas Food Bank

In 1982, four Dallas women pledged to fight hunger in North Texas. Jo Curtis, Kathryn Hall, Lorraine Griffin Kircher, and Liz Minyard began collecting and distributing donations of surplus food and grocery products through a network of charitable organizations across North Texas. The Goal at NTFB is to close the hunger gap in North Texas by providing access to nutritious food.

Perot Family Campus

3677 Mapleshade Lane

Plano Texas, 75075

(214)-330-1396

East Texas Food Bank

Since October 1988, the ETFB has provided food to over 200 partner agencies and food programs in an effort to feed children, the working poor and seniors throughout 26 counties in East Texas. The Mission at ETFB is to fight hunger and feed hope in East Texas. It is one of four food banks that serve the Gulf Coast Region who are pre-staged with food products from Feeding America, to respond to disasters.

3201 Robertson Road

Tyler, TX 75701

(903) 597-3663 or (800) 815-3663

West Texas Food Bank

The WTFB has been feeding families in Odessa, Midland, and the entire West Texas area for more than 35 years. The WTFB has a vision of West Texas without hunger. As the largest nonprofit, non-governmental hunger-relief organization in the Permian Basin,they have distributed, donated and purchased food to children, families and seniors with help from more than 100+ partners. They have even been able to provide food to individuals across 34,000 square miles of Texas and have two locations – Odessa and Midland.

411 South Pagewood Avenue

Odessa, Texas 79761

(432) 580-6333

1601 Westcliff Drive

Midland, Texas 79703

(432) 697 4003

South Texas Food Bank

In the 1980’s, the Federal government recognized that it was not able to provide the necessary assistance to food insecure people across the country through the existing food programs. In Laredo, millions of pounds of edible foods, that could be used to feed the hungry in their community, were being disposed of in the landfill every year.

The goal at STFB is to alleviate hunger in the eight-county service area in the South Texas area by collecting and distributing food through partner agencies and programs while creating awareness and educating the community on the realities of hunger.

2121 Jefferson St

Laredo, TX 78040

(956)726-3120

Are any of these food banks close to you?

If not, check out Feeding Texas to help find a food bank near you!

Everything is bigger in Texas, and it appears food insecurity is too. A study conducted by Feeding America found that over 4 million Texan households experience food insecurity due to low-income or financial struggles. Children, seniors, veterans, people with disabilities, and working families are among those affected.

Certain populations appear to be at higher risk. In Austin, Texas, more than 18% of Austin’s population are classified as experiencing food insecurity, or nearly one in every five residents are without consistent, stable access to healthy food. Within that percentage, 11% of Black residents and 9% of Hispanic and Latino residents are among those who face food insecurity.

The United States Department of Agriculture outlines food insecurity as “the limited or uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate and safe foods or limited or uncertain ability to acquire acceptable foods in socially acceptable ways.” Food insecurity is not only detrimental to our overall health, but can also lead to anxiety, birth defects, and cognitive problems.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, it put vulnerable families and individuals at an even higher risk for food insecurity.

The pandemic significantly impacted our food landscape, with high unemployment producing long lines at food banks, interruptions in supply chains leaving shelves empty, and lockdowns prompting some consumers to stock up on groceries.

While our food system was experiencing major disruptions, the pandemic also resulted in job losses that left millions unemployed, doubling the rates of food insecurity across the United States and tripled rates among households with children.

Some ways families have been affected by the pandemic include:

Increased economic distress related to job loss and/or increased utility bills or other household expenses due to household members being at home more than usual.
A rise in food needs, prices, and shortages.
Increased economic stress and food insecurity contributed to substantial psychological stress, adding to fears of infection, isolation, and stress related to children confined to home.

A study by UT-Southwestern researchers found that, “Despite federal legislation and state and local programs to alleviate food insecurity, COVID-19 exacerbated economic hardship, food insecurity and psychological distress among urban SNAP and food pantry clients.”

Another reason why the pandemic had such a drastic impact on food insecurity was school closures, which meant that families were forced to be at home all day now. Children were depending on their parents to provide them with the meals and snacks that school’s used to be responsible for.

Now that the Pandemic is coming to an end, we hope to see a decline in the amount of families that are struggling to feed their children and make ends meet. There are a lot of amazing programs in Texas that are trying to combat this issue. Some of these programs include:

SNAP: The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is the most widely used federal nutrition program in Texas. Sixty-two percent of SNAP beneficiaries are children.
Local Food Banks: Share free food and knowledge on low-cost, healthy eating with families in need. Assist families who qualify for federal assistance programs
Feeding America Campaign: Feeding America has a campaign that calls on lawmakers to join the fight on ending hunger and food insecurity. Join the fight!

In the Rio Grande Valley, about 91% of the population is Hispanic. Being Hispanic myself, I know how much we love our amazing food, although it might not always be the healthiest. When it begins to affect our physical health however, that’s when things can get difficult. Many of the cities in the Rio Grande Valley have high rates of people living under the poverty line, limiting their food options to whatever is cheapest, which more often than not tends to be an unhealthy option. As time passes, these unhealthy eating habits can cause health issues such as liver disease and heart failure. This is a big issue in the RGV as the majority of residents don’t have access to affordable healthcare. This often leads people of the community to repress illnesses and avoid going to the doctor, until their condition is so critical that they have no option but to go to the doctor. This is what’s known as ‘Colonias’, which are “substandard housing developments,” often found along the Texas-Mexico border. Residents in these areas “lack basic services such as drinking water, sewage treatment, and paved roads.” While money is a big limitation to residents, others face different limitations. Many residents in the RGV are undocumented.This leaves them with very little options when it comes to these resources.Especially when it comes to healthcare, it’s very hard for families to get a basic check up as they can’t do anything without being asked for some form of identification.

Thankfully there are programs working to help better these communities such as the Healthy Living nutrition education program. Run by Sandra Villegras, this program has helped guide those in the right direction by living a healthier lifestyle. You can find more information about the food banks here. The program involves helping the community to come up with different recipes while still staying true to their culture. It also provides information on exercises and cooking demonstrations and even hand out bags of fresh produce to get them started. There’s also another great program called SNAPs which is Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and that has helped 28 percent of the valley’s community providing them with a little income in order to get the resources they need. SNAPs has even teamed up with farmers markets and gives people the option to pay through SNAPs so they for sure get the healthier options they need. There are also people known as ‘Promotoras.’ ‘Promotora’ are community members that help others with the same cultural backgrounds to help provide nutritional information and healthcare information. They have done a great job in being the backbone of these communities when it comes to helping those of a lower income and those with mixed families. They have teamed up with other programs that involve mobile clinics in order for these families and most importantly children to get a regular check up.

There is no reason residents shouldn’t have access to healthy and nutritious food options. No one should fear having to go seek help for their own health. We have the resources to help as many people as we can and we should do everything in our power to help create healthier and safer communities.

Don’t Let Texans Go Hungry

Food Insecurity in the Age of Covid

Healthy Living in Rio Grande Valley