Nonpro t
BY JESSICA SHORTEN
Food agency needs grow
Assessing the impact
Missy Herndon, president and CEO of Interfaith of The Woodlands. “What we tend to nd par- ticularly during higher need times, and what we expect with the [Supplemental Nutrition Assis- tance Program] changes, will be that families will be coming in from all over, because they’ll start calling around and looking for additional support.” According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the federal poverty level is set at $15,060 annually for a single individual, and it rises to $31,200 for a family of four. However, the threshold to be considered a “low-income house- hold” has continuously risen over the last ve years according to U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development data. “There are way more people who actually need the help, and especially in the summertime right now, when kids are home from school,” Marlow said.
Marlow said a key concern has been the rising cost of food in both grocery stores and through the food bank’s procurement process, which also helps provide resources to local food pantries. “It’s very expensive. You know, people are work- ing paycheck to paycheck,” Marlow said. “Most people that we serve are working individuals that just can’t make ends meet. If you throw in a car repair bill or ... a medical bill, it puts them into that situation where they have to turn to the food bank and our food pantries for assistance.” The strain is also being felt among agencies which provide food pantry services across the county, such as the nonprot Interfaith of The Woodlands, where o cials said they expect to see a 20%-25% increase in food pantry services over the summer. “We believe that we’re going to see an increase in families coming in, without question,” said
A May report from Feeding America, a nationwide nonpro t that studies the rate of food insecurity–or lack of adequate access to food–showed nearly 100,000 residents are struggling locally. Meanwhile, local agencies say they are facing their own challenges in meeting demand. According to Feeding America’s Map the Meal Gap report, the annual food budget shortfall for residents in Montgomery County has risen from $37.2 million in 2019 to $64.5 million in 2023. The study also showed that as of 2023, 98,400 individuals are struggling with adequate food supply, a number Montgomery County Food Bank President Kristine Marlow said is still low. “That’s a published number, but we are seeing that people need a lot more help than that,” Marlow said.
Federal low-income levels
Single-person household: $21,250-$56,650
Two-person household: $24,300-$64,750
Three-person household: $27,350-$72,850
Four-person household: $32,150-$80,900
Montgomery County food insecure population growth
$100,000
100,000
$80,000
80,000
60,000
$60,000
40,000
$40,000
20,000
0
$20,000
$0
2022
2023
2024
2025
2021
NOTE: FEEDING AMERICA DATA HAS A TWOYEAR LAG IN REPORTING. SOURCE: FEEDING AMERICACOMMUNITY IMPACT
SOURCE: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENTCOMMUNITY IMPACT
Final takeaways
• Canned vegetables and fruits • Hot and cold cereal
At the food bank, Marlow said work on its new 18,000-square-foot facility was nearing completion, and it will help provide up to 1 million more meals annually in the community. She said local business leaders and individuals can also help by donating any amount of food or monetary contribution to local food bank and pantries, as well as high- need items such as: • Canned soups
With schools out for the summer, there is also an increased need to ensure children still get the nutrition they need on a daily basis to support healthy development. “The summer months are very high need months for us, particularly with so many students at home, and they’re not getting the programs from school that they’re used to getting,” Herndon said. “We already are seeing that.”
• Peanut butter and jelly • Dried pasta and grains
“We have such incredible sourcing power that every dollar donated can provide up to four meals, which is incredible,” Marlow said. “So having donations come in helps us to ll those gaps, helps us to work with the pantries, helps us to put those programs out for people.”
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THE WOODLANDS EDITION
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