Houston Food Bank has established a collaborative partnership with Emergency Aid Coalition to operate the emergency food pantry located at the Food Bank’s headquarters at 535 Portwall Street.
The Emergency Food Pantry was established at the Food Bank when they moved to their new location in September 2011. It is open extended hours on weekdays and weekends for working families and individuals in need of assistance who cannot visit their neighborhood pantries during their hours of operation. The pantry is stocked with a variety of food staples including meat, bread dairy and fresh produce as well as nonperishables such as rice, canned goods and juices.
“Half of all households served by Houston Food Bank partner agencies have someone who is employed, trying to make ends meet but unable to earn enough to keep food on the table,” says Terence Franklin, Food Bank Director of Agency Services. “We need more charities to open their doors at hours that accommodate working schedules.”
Houston Food Bank provides the facility and all of the food, and Emergency Aid Coalition (EAC) will provide staffing and volunteers for operation of the Emergency Food Pantry. This new partnership is referred to as “EAC @ HFB.”
“Emergency Aid Coalition is honored to have been selected for this unique partnership, and we are committed to providing the high level of service that the Houston Food Bank and the community expect and deserve,” says Jean West Evans, executive director of Emergency Aid Coalition. “EAC’s volunteers are the heart of our organization, and play an integral role in the success of the EAC @ HFB Emergency Food Pantry.”
Emergency Aid Coalition has been a partner agency of the Houston Food Bank for almost 25 years. The organization’s mission is to serve as an interfaith association of congregations covenanted to promote the self-sufficiency of its clients by assisting them with basic needs. In addition to food, clients will receive references for food pantries in their neighborhoods.
Interested in volunteering at the emergency pantry? Contact EAC Volunteer Coordinator Marian Bryant at [email protected]. For more information on the Emergency Pantry and the new collaborative partnership, visit http://www.emergencyfoodpantry.org/#!home/mainPage.
About the Houston Food Bank
Now operating from a new, 308,000 square-foot facility, the Houston Food Bank is the nation’s largest size Feeding America food bank and source of food for hunger relief charities in 18 southeast Texas counties. They have been named one of 10 Top-Notch Charities across the nation by Charity Navigator. A network of 500 food pantries, soup kitchens, senior centers and other agencies, feeding a total of 137,000 people each week, provides 50 million nutritious meals annually. Fresh produce, meat and nonperishables are distributed from the new warehouse at 535 Portwall, and hot meals are prepared and distributed from Keegan Center, a 15,000 square-foot industrial kitchen. Additional community services range from nutrition education to assistance with food stamp applications and hands-on job training. Red Barrels offer a convenient way for grocery shoppers to donate nonperishables for their neighbors in need. The Houston Food Bank, founded in 1982, is a certified member of Feeding America, the nation’s food bank network. The organization plans to grow to an annual distribution of 100 million nutritious meals by 2018. Visit HoustonFoodBank.org for more information. Find us on Facebook at facebook.com/theHoustonFoodBank or follow our news on Twitter at twitter.com/HoustonFoodBank.
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