FOOD SCARCITY
Food scarcity in the Houston-The Woodlands- Sugar Land metro area peaked at 21.4% between Oct. 28-Nov. 9, 2020, according to U.S. Census Bureau Household Pulse Survey data.
purchase the noodles.” Brazoria County Dream Center receives about 20-25 pallets of food from the Houston Food Bank each week, Willis said. Each pallet is about 1,000 pounds of food, which, according to national nonprofit Feeding America, is roughly 833 meals, she said. While the deliveries from the Houston Food Bank help fill out the center’s pantry, they do not provide everything it needs, she said. Brazoria County Dream Center relies on local food drives to diversify its offerings, which slowed down significantly because of the coronavirus pandemic. While the number of food drives have increased since the beginning of the pandemic, the demand for food is still greater, Willis said. Children in need There has been a similar increase in food scarcity among students in Pearland, Alvin and Friendswood ISDs. Since at least 2014, each dis- trict’s percentage of economically disadvantaged students—which includes those eligible for free or reduced-price meals—has increased roughly 4 percentage points at each district between 2014-22, according to Texas Education Agency data. AISD is offering a summer meal pro- gram for children this summer, Direc- tor of Communications Renae Rives said. PISD and FISD are not offering services this summer. Mia Medina, program manager for No Kid Hungry Texas, said the sum- mer is the hungriest time for Texas teens and kids. NKH Texas works with schools, local nonprofits and elected leaders across the state to help kids in need of food. “During the school year, kids can rely on school meal programs like breakfast, lunch and after-school meals, but when school is out, many of those meals disappear,” Medina said. “That means ... their families have to stretch their budgets even fur- ther than they anticipated.” There is a usual uptick of families in need because of children getting out of school each year during June and July, Willis said. Organizations such as NKH Texas and local food banks aim to help out those families, but even under nor- mal circumstances, local food banks are hard pressed to meet the demand, Greene said. This year, the uptick began in May, Willis said. “Normally, we don’t meet [the] need even on our best day because the reality of food insecurity is that food insecurity
SOURCE: U.S. CENSUS BUREAU HOUSEHOLD PULSE SURVEY/COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
Food scarcity is defined as the percentage of adults in households in which there was either sometimes or often not enough to eat in the last seven days.
25%
21.4%
14.2%
20%
10.9%
15%
10%
5%
0
May 2020
2021
2022
MAPPING THE MEAL GAP The Pearland and Friendswood area is home to eight food distribution partners through the Houston Food Bank. The Galveston County Food Bank has two west of I-45 and north of FM 517 . SOURCES: U.S. CENSUS BUREAU AMERICAN COMMUNITY SURVEY 2020 5-YEAR ESTIMATES, HOUSTON FOOD BANK, MONTGOMERY COUNTY FOOD BANK/COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
qualify to collect food from the pan- try, Willis said. People must provide identification and proof of address and income, she said. Increasing demand When the pandemic began, local food pantries were flooded with new clients almost overnight, said Brian Greene, president and CEO of the Hous- ton Food Bank, which partners with the Brazoria County Dream Center. “As soon as those closures and lay- offs hit, the lines went crazy long—lon- ger than we’ve ever seen, like, even after Hurricane Harvey,” Greene said. Donnie VanAckeren, president and CEO of the Galveston County Food Bank, said he saw a similar increase. During one early COVID-19 distribu- tion, he called his pastor and asked him to pray there would be enough food for each family; miraculously, there was, he said. Willis painted a similar picture with her pantry. When the demand from families tapered off due to stimulus checks passed by the federal govern- ment in 2020 and early 2021, Brazo- ria County Dream Center saw a rise in seniors in need of help, she said. Then Winter Storm Uri caused another jump in demand, she said. The demand has begun to spike again, VanAckeren and Willis said. Both said they have seen an increase in the number of young couples rely- ing on the food pantries for food, espe- cially those with children. “I am seeing that increase now, which is disconcerting for me because I have to continue to purchase more food,” Willis said. “As far as food is concerned, yes, I get food from the Houston Food Bank, but if I get a pal- let of spaghetti sauce, I have to go
2020 median annual income
288
$95,273
77581
U.S. median annual income
77584
77546
$107,340
$64,994
$105,406
35
$92,891 77578
517
45
6
$63,9826 Texas median annual income
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Houston Food Bank Partner food pantries
Galveston County Food Bank
Woodlands-Sugar Land metro area reported being food scarce at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic between April 23-May 5, 2020. Between Oct. 28-Nov. 9, 2020, local food scarcity peaked at 21.4% and has since fluctu- ated, dropping to 11.3% between March 30-April 11 this year. Brazoria County Dream Center is CONTINUED FROM 1 houstonfoodbank.org/ways-to-give To volunteer: call 713-547-8604 or visit www.houstonfoodbank.org/ ways-to-give/give-time Houston Food Bank To find help: call 832-369-9390 or visit www.houstonfoodbank.org/ find-help To donate: visit www.
seeing an uptick of families and indi- viduals coming into their pantry in need of resources, CEO and Executive Director Terri Willis said. The Brazoria County Dream Center is a charity orga- nization focused on helping children and adults in Brazoria County facing life challenges by providing food and other basic needs. The organization allows those that Galveston County Food Bank To find help: call 409-945-4232 or visit www.galvestoncountyfoodbank.org To donate: call 409-945-4232 or visit www.galvestoncountyfoodbank.org/ donation-information To volunteer: call 409-945-4232 or email volunteer@ galvestoncountyfoodbank.org N
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