Houston Food Bank Expands Aid as SNAP Benefits Remain Suspended

As the federal government shutdown continues and November SNAP benefits remain suspended, the Houston Food Bank (HFB) is expanding its operations to meet a surge in community need.

Beginning November 1, HFB and its community partners began holding large-scale food distributions across the organization’s 18-county service area. The initiative is expected to provide nutritious food for approximately 15,000 households each week, with a focus on seniors, children, families, veterans, federal workers, and SNAP recipients affected by the ongoing shutdown.

The distributions supplement the assistance already available through HFB’s network of 1,600 partner agencies, which continue to operate as usual. Each participating household will receive a variety of essential items including protein, produce, dairy, and carbohydrates.

Since launching its crisis response plan, Houston Food Bank has provided nutritious meals to nearly 46,000 families through both regular operations and crisis response distributions. The organization has also distributed more than 3.5 million pounds of food across its service region.

HFB’s “supersite” distribution locations are run directly by the food bank and are designed to serve as many as 5,000 families each. Additional targeted distributions are being held at HFB partner agencies, which are receiving food supplied by the food bank.

Federal employees and SNAP recipients are required to register in advance to receive assistance. Distribution locations and registration details can be found at HoustonFoodBank.org/crisisresponse or by calling 211 for more information.

Upcoming distribution dates and locations:

• November 8,  8 am to noon, HISD Hattie Mae White Admin Building (Supersite location) Register
  4400 W 18th St. (77092)

• November 8 ~ 9:30 am to 1 pm, Catholic Charities, Richmond Register
  1111 Collins Rd, Richmond, TX (77469)

• November 11 ~ 8 am to 1 pm, Bethel’s Heavenly Hands Register
  12525 Fondren Rd. (77035)

For a complete list of upcoming special distributions, please visit HoustonFoodBank.org/crisisresponse or call 211

Partnering with Houston Food Bank on these special distributions are the Houston Texans, Bethel’s Heavenly Hands, Catholic Charities Mamie George, Heart and Hands of Baytown, Community Faith Church, and West Houston Assistance Ministries.

For more information on Houston Food Bank and its programs, visit www.HoustonFoodBank.org or call 713-223-3700.

About Houston Food Bank

Serving Houston and southeast Texas since 1982, Houston Food Bank’s mission is to provide food for better lives. We provide access to 140 million nutritious meals in 18 counties through our 1,600 community partners of food pantries, soup kitchens, social service providers and schools.  Filling gaps on plates, we have a strong focus on healthy foods and fresh produce. In collaboration with our community, we advocate for policy change and racial equity, and promote dialogue on ways to increase access to food and to improve the lives of those in our communities, including services and connections to programs that address the root causes of hunger and are aimed at helping families achieve long-term stability: nutrition education, health management and help with securing state-funded assistance. We are a resource for individuals and families in times of hardship. Houston Food Bank works alongside our partner food banks in Montgomery County, Galveston County and Brazos Valley. Houston Food Bank is a certified member of Feeding America, the nation’s food bank network, with a four-star rating from Charity Navigator for the 13th consecutive year.