Category: News

New Mobile Pantry Program brings produce to underserved locations

Mobile Pantry Program

The East Texas Food Bank’s new Mobile Pantry Program targets isolated communities with little or no access to emergency food resources throughout our 26 county service area. Communities are determined by using census data that indicates where the highest level of poverty are located.

“We work with our current partners and have community partners that help us facilitate the mobile pantry,” said Tabitha Johnson ETFB Mobile Pantry Coordinator. “It’s a ‘pop-up style’ event where we come on-site then leave when distribution is over.”

The Mobile Pantry Program currently has 10 sites where fresh produce is being distributed to families. Because the program is truly “mobile”, it allows flexibility in location.

“A typical food bank partner pantry is a brick and mortar building,” Johnson said. “A benefit with this program is we can serve a low-income housing development or a larger population in a church parking lot like we do in Texarkana.”

As many as 500 families have been served during one of the recent distributions, but an average of 200-300 household is more common.

“I think the need is so great right now due to the pandemic,” Johnson said.

The community response to the mobile pantry distributions has been good, according to Johnson. She said those who are served are so grateful.

“When we opened the Marshall site recently, we were able to take water and produce because of the need with having the boil water notice there,” Johnson said. “A lady tried to climb out of the car and give me a hug because she was so excited because they hadn’t had water in days and the food was such a blessing to them.”

There are no income or geographic requirements to participate in the Mobile Pantry Program. For more information and locations on the program, click here. If you are interested in being being a partner and hosting a Mobile Pantry location, click here.

One Year Later: Feeding Hunger During a Pandemic

As we reach an unexpected milestone, the one-year anniversary of the World Health Organization’s official declaration of the COVID-19 pandemic, I wanted to take a moment to update you on our work and say thank you. Of all the disasters that the East Texas Food Bank has responded to over the last 33 years, this pandemic has brought an unprecedented challenge to our mission of fighting hunger and feeding hope.

When COVID-19 hit our East Texas communities a year ago, we were presented with the perfect storm of increased demand, disruptions to our food sourcing model and a decline in our invaluable volunteers.

Knowing that the need of our neighbors would be greater than ever, we didn’t let these obstacles deter us from our mission. We immediately responded to the pandemic by augmenting our year-round programs so they could safely operate. Additionally, we held drive-thru emergency food box distributions, piloted a senior home delivery program and provided targeted financial and logistical support to our partner agencies so they could stay open.

The East Texas Food Bank, volunteers, food pantries and feeding programs have been, and will continue to be, on the frontlines ensuring our neighbors have access to the food and services they need during this difficult time. Together, we were able to serve more than 24.4 million meals to over 75,000 families from March 2020-February 2021.

I am so grateful for our generous donors, community partners, volunteers and hard-working staff that have made this difficult work possible, but our work is far from over. Every single day, 1 in 5 East Texans, including 1 in 3 children, are facing hunger. However, thanks to generous friends like you, I know we’ll continue to fight hunger and feed hope throughout 2021.

You can help us continue to fight hunger and feed hope in East Texas by making a gift, volunteering with us or having a virtual food drive for your business or organization.

Winter Storm Recovery Resources

As East Texans begin the recovery process from the winter storm last week, the East Texas Food Bank is hard at work providing support and food for our partner agency network through our 26 county service area. Below, we have gathered some resources for those who are looking for assistance during this time.

Finding Help

Food Pantries and Feeding Program

Click the “Find Food” button at the top of any page on our website to be directed to our locator at the bottom of the screen. Select your county or input you city and state to see a list of food pantries in your area. **NOTE: Some pantries may have limited hours or be closed due to effect from the storm. Please contact your local pantry for current information.**

Drive-Thru Food Distributions

The East Texas Food Bank is continuing drive-thru distributions in Tyler, Longview and Lufkin for the next few months. These are open to the public, with no ID or paperwork necessary. Click here to see the latest dates.

Help Applying for Assistance Programs

The East Texas Food Bank Benefits Assistance Team can help you apply for benefits such as SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families), CHIP (Children’s Health Insurance Program) & Children’s Medicaid, Medicaid for Pregnant Women, Healthy Texas Women and Medicare Savings Program. To request benefits information and assistance, click here and fill out the form at the bottom of the page. One of our Benefits Assistance Specialist will contact you about your request.

SNAP Benefits Update

Due to the storm, SNAP households that lost food during the storm can request replacement SNAP benefits. To do this, clients need to call 2-1-1 (option 5) during business hours (M-F, 9-6) to request replacement benefits. 2-1-1 will accept their verbal statement attesting to their loss. Clients can request up to 100% of their monthly benefit depending on how much food was lost. For additional ways to request benefits and other updates. click here.

HHSC also got approval of a Hot Foods Waiver for all current SNAP recipients. This will allow households to purchase hot and already prepared foods at SNAP-approved retailers. This will help people who can’t cook due to power outages, storm damage and lack of water.

Giving Help

With help from our volunteers, donors and advocates, we work hard to fight hunger in East Texas—in times of crisis and all year long. If you are healthy and able to volunteer, you can find upcoming shifts when you click here. For those able to give a gift during this time, your generosity can make an immediate impact.

East Texas Food Bank to receive philanthropic investment from MacKenzie Scott

Recently, philanthropist MacKenzie Scott published a list of charitable investments that she is making in non-profits across the United States, Puerto Rico and Washington D.C. According to the article Scott published on Medium, 384 organizations were selected and the East Texas Food Bank is honored and proud to be included in this list of gift recipients.

“We are quickly convening our board of directors, leadership team and other stakeholders to ensure that the philanthropy entrusted to us will help more East Texans access more nutritious food and support services equitably and efficiently- now, during the crisis of COVID-19, and for the long term,” said East Texas Food Bank Chief Executive Officer Dennis Cullinane.

ETFB plans to share details about the gift and how it will be invested across ETFB’s 26 county service area in early 2021.

“This generous investment in the East Texas Food Bank is a vote of confidence in the work we are all doing together to end hunger in East Texas,” Cullinane said. “Every partner agency, volunteer, donor, staff member, board member and stakeholder should feel proud to receive this recognition and investment.”

Cullinane added that the investment will serve to advance our strategic plan and our capacity to achieve the goal of ending hunger in East Texas by enabling us to invest in initiatives and tactics that up until now lacked resources.

“The hunger crisis is bigger than what any one philanthropist can solve,” Cullinane added. Ending hunger and its devastating effects in East Texas is within our reach when we all come together to fight hunger. With this investment and continued generosity of all East Texans, we can end hunger together.”

The announcement comes as East Texas is battling an unprecedented hunger crisis. Texas has the 7th highest food insecurity rate in the nation. Locally, one in five East Texans, including one in three children, is facing hunger. That’s 256,410 East Texans, including 96,350 children and households of color experience disproportionately higher rates of hunger.

“The East Texas Food Bank values transparency and after a thorough review, analysis and strategic planning, we will share our plans for this investment and the impact it will have on the people we serve,” Cullinane added.

East Texas Food Bank honors seven recipients with inaugural Hunger Hero Awards

  • Brookshire Grocery Company

To recognize the outpouring of support from the community during the East Texas Food Bank’s crisis response to the COVID-19 pandemic, ETFB honored seven recipients with the inaugural Hunger Hero Awards.

Hunger Hero Awards were given to Brookshire Grocery Company, Longview Police Department, Smith County Government, Texas Army National Guard 1st Squadron 124th Calvary Regiment, The Mentoring Alliance, T.L.L. Temple Foundation and Tyler Police Department.

“Hunger existed in East Texas long before the pandemic hit and now more of our neighbors – kids in our children’s classes, the barista at the local coffee shop and our working-class neighbors– are struggling to put food on the table today,” said East Texas Food Bank Chief Executive Officer Dennis Cullinane. “We’re inspired by the support we’ve received from the community to help ensure that all East Texas have access to the nutritious food they need to thrive during these difficult times.”

The awards were given during Feeding America’s Hunger Action Month. The awareness month is every September and works to inspire community to take action and bring attention to the reality of Hunger in East Texas.

“It is the Tyler Police Department’s honor and privilege to fully support the highly professional and compassionate people of the East Texas Food Bank,” said Tyler Police Department Sergeant Matt Leigeber. “Our local government officials recognized early on with the COVID-19 pandemic, that many of our citizens in East Texas are facing extremely difficult times, many for the first time.  When the East Texas Food Bank requested to partner with the Tyler Police Department in order to safely and efficiently serve thousands of our citizens on a regular basis, we were excited to be a part of that.”

Hunger impacts people in every corner of the country, including 282,530 people, 105,850 of which are children, right here in East Texas. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of East Texans facing hunger increased five percent and the number of children increased 10 percent.

Before the pandemic hit, one in five East Texans, including one in four children, were facing hunger. According to projections from Feeding America, now it’s nearly one in four East Texans, including one in three children.

“For 92 years, Brookshire Grocery has been committed to causes including hunger relief in the communities where we live and work. Never has the need been more pervasive or sustained than during this pandemic. We are very grateful to have been able to partner with the East Texas Food Bank to help those who have been affected by the pandemic,” said Chairman and CEO of Brookshire Grocery Co. Brad Brookshire.

“Hunger is a crisis in East Texas that will take the whole communities’ support to fight. While the fight against hunger is ongoing- together, we can feed hope for our neighbors in need,” Cullinane said.