Bastrop - Cedar Creek Edition | February 2026

Bastrop leaders aim to strengthen food access From the cover

What ocials are saying

Annual household income and food spending

Bastrop County residents spend an average of $9,200 a year on food, according to the Central Texas Food Bank's Food Access Community Needs Assessment for 2025.

pantries and meal sites multiple times throughout the month, resulting in approximately 21,000 total assistances.” The BCEFP is among those providers looking to help with its recent addition of a 9,200-square- foot facility. With rising food costs quickly depleting grocery store budgets, BCEFP Executive Director Tresha Silva shared her excitement about the new facility, which features a grocery store model where clients are able to shop for and select the items they want. “We’re learning new things every day about the facility from those who have shopped at the grocery store, as well as our volunteers and sta,” she said, noting feedback will be used to adjust its model.

BCC partners with the Central Texas Food Bank to issue annual community needs assessments. Mercado said data consistently shows a signicant portion of Bastrop County residents experience food insecurity due to limited access. In Bastrop County, where the average annual household spending on food is $9,200, 15.4% residents experience food insecurity, 11.9% are below the poverty level, and 6.2% receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benets, according to the 2025 report. Nearly 20 charitable food providers in Bastrop County have launched initiatives, including food pantries, senior and children’s programs, meal sites, mobile pantries, and home deliveries. “Each month, over 13,000 unique neighbors access charitable food programs in Bastrop County,” according to the report. “Many visit food

Average household food spending Average household income

Lower-income areas

$8,663

$61,657

Higher-income areas

$9,692

$101,002

SOURCE: CENTRAL TEXAS FOOD BANKCOMMUNITY IMPACT

Local grocery options in Bastrop

What we know

290

Bastrop County

Burleson Crossing East, opening March 6. Becki Womble, president and CEO of the Bastrop Chamber of Commerce, called the upgraded HEB and upcoming Sprouts Farmers Market “more than just new places to shop.” “They reect the community’s growth and evolving needs,” she said. In 2025, Walmart announced more than 650 stores across the country would be remod- eled to become more modernized, but its Bastrop location, which came to the area decades ago, was not selected for a project, according to a news release.

With more people calling Bastrop home and a limited number of major grocery stores, residents are calling for more food options to keep up with that growth. HEB is among the chains to recognize that need as the Texas-based grocery giant actively expands its Bastrop footprint. Although HEB was targeting a January comple- tion date for its Bastrop renovation, spokesperson Heidi Post told Community Impact that construc- tion is now expected to wrap in spring. Another grocery option expanding access to food includes a Sprouts Farmers Market at

1 H-E-B 2 Walmart 3 Jalisco Meat Market 4 Sprouts Farmers Market

Bastrop

Cedar Creek

304

COLORADO RIVER

OLDAUST I

150

304

WALNUT ST.

HASLER BLVD.

SOURCE: GOOGLECOMMUNITY IMPACT

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