Houston Food Bank's Response to Food Insecurity

On behalf of the Houston Food Bank (HFB), partner agencies and more importantly, the clients we serve; I want to extend our gratitude to you for your support in helping us serve those affected by the pandemic. With your generous gift, the Houston Food Bank has continued its COVID-19 response efforts, helping meet the needs of food insecure families in Houston and across southeast Texas.

The need for food assistance has increased drastically as the COVID-19 pandemic continues and Houston Food Bank’s response in the last few months demonstrates that. To meet this evolving and increasing need, we have had to continuously alter our business model— often at increased cost-- due to impact on supply chains, social distancing limitations on volunteer efforts, and the need for safe, low-contact food distributions. We are distributing nutritious meals utilizing new models and leveraging new partnerships to meet the varying needs of the community during this unprecedented time. 

From August to October 2020, HFB's COVID-19 response efforts include: 

• 65,403,887 pounds of food and product distributed
• 633,812 home deliveries of food made safely and with no contact with the help of volunteers, staff, and partners
• 29,824,115 pounds of produce distributed to the community
• 575,876 ready to eat meals distributed to kids in the Kids Cafe program
• 124,248 households served each week, approximately, on average

The meal counts and pounds distributed you see in these materials are more than just a number or statistic; they represent thousands of smiles from our neighbors in southeast Texas who felt relief from the pain of hunger because of your donation. On behalf of the families we serve including those made more vulnerable as the COVID-19 pandemic spreads, thank you for your continued commitment to food for better lives.

Thank you so much for supporting the Houston Food Bank's COVID-19 response efforts! When our neighbors are struggling, Houston Food Bank is there—every day of the year. With our community in the grips of COVID-19, we are meeting the increased needs of today while preparing for continued challenges in the weeks and months to come. 

I wanted to briefly share with you how we are responding to the needs of our neighbors in Houston and across southeast Texas. Since March, we have been:

• Working together with school districts to supplement their efforts to ensure children who rely on meals at school are still receiving access to nutritious food during the summer;
• Coordinating with municipal health departments on distribution of Quarantine Food Kits. This is direct distribution to medically-directed quarantined / isolated individuals;
• Operating alternative distribution models, following CDC recommendations for social distance measures and enhanced sanitation and monitoring partner sites to ensure that all partners are promoting social distance practices such as drive-through and appointment-based distributions;
• Adjusting daily to meet the needs of the community and adapting our logistics and operations to help people in the safest and most effective way possible.

Please see the attached document for some of the service highlights made possible through the generosity of people like you. 

• HFB_COVID_data_June_2020.pdf (PDF)