Georgetown Edition | November 2025

Nonpro t

BY GRACIE WARHURST

The Caring Place’s holiday food drive strives to support Georgetown families

W. UNIVERSITY AVE.

northern Williamson County. Individuals—or businesses, schools and churches— can drop o donations at 2000 Railroad Ave., Georgetown. The Caring Place also provides blue barrels to assist in collecting food and monetary donations for food drives.

The Caring Place, a Georgetown-based nonprot organization, is conducting its Hunger Free Holidays Food Drive through Dec. 31. With a goal of collecting 350,000 pounds of food by the end of the year, the organization is accepting donations to provide food support to children, families and seniors in Georgetown and

The specics

Some context

including population growth and rising costs of necessities. Many of the people that The Caring Place assists are working families or retirees with a xed income, O’Connor said. “That’s really why we’re here,” O’Connor said. “It’s not just for food insecurity, but the idea is if we can help a family with food, hope- fully that helps stretch their monthly budget so that they can meet their household expenses because everything’s getting more expensive.” Additionally, millions of Texans saw delays in their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benets beginning Nov. 1, due to the federal government shutdown. President Donald Trump signed legislation Nov. 13 to fund the government, an act the Texas Health and Human Services Commission previously said would allow SNAP benets to resume.

The Caring Place was founded in 1985 during an economic downturn, Executive Director Ginna O’Connor said. Churches in the area had an inux of people in need, and two women—Yoli Branson and Marty Maxwell—had a vision to create one place in the community where people could have their basic needs met. “The Caring Place has grown with the commu- nity to be a major safety net provider,” O’Connor said. “Our mission is to provide for the basic human needs of all people in our community in a welcom- ing, respectful and caring way.” Last year, The Caring Place served 11,391 people through its various outreach services. After a few years of not accepting food donations, this is The Caring Place’s rst food drive since the pandemic. The organization is collecting a variety of nonexpired, nonperishable food items. Financial donations are also welcome, and The Caring Place can purchase 8 pounds of food with every $1 donated.

Community food drives help supplement the partnership that The Caring Place has with the Central Texas Food Bank, O’Connor said. The Caring Place receives approximately 85% of its food from the Central Texas Food Bank, including shelf-stable, fresh, and frozen options, Food Programs Manager David Heath said in an email. As a free-choice shopping pantry, The Caring Place strives to provide a variety of food in a grocery store-like experience. Food pantry needs continue to increase every month, particularly over the holiday season, O’Connor said. Through August, The Caring Place has experienced a 6% increase in visits to the food pantry, Heath said. O’Connor and Heath said they think there is a combination of factors contributing to an increased demand in the food pantry,

The most needed items are:

Get involved

“We’re community-founded [and] community-supported, and everything that The Caring Place does goes back into this community. We would not exist if not for the incredibly generous support of this community

Canned vegetables

There’s many ways to get involved with The Caring Place, the food drive being just one of them. The organization relies on volunteers, with about 400 people helping out across its food pantry, thrifts stores and donation intake. Those looking to get involved can volunteer, make nancial donations and shop at The Caring Place thrift stores, which are both located in Georgetown.

Canned soups

Boxed cereals and breakfast items

in every way.” GINNA O’CONNOR, THE CARING PLACE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Peanut butter

Canned proteins

Personal hygiene items

SOURCE: THE CARING PLACECOMMUNITY IMPACT

GEORGETOWN EDITION