Help the food bank support those in need
Cars line up, their trunks open, eager for food. At each station, food boxes are placed inside via contactless distribution, but volunteer Marilyn Price doesn’t let them leave without a message. She posts herself at the final pick-up tent so she can not only send the recipients away with the food they need, but also with a kind word, a blessing and a tap of their trunk. She knows how they feel, because she, too, is struggling.
Price is a single parent who lost her job in January and her unemployment benefits in September, and since early in the pandemic has volunteered for the Houston Food Bank four days per week. She says getting out and helping is better than sitting home and worrying, and it takes her mind off her own struggles. “There is always someone who needs help more than you,” she said.
COVID-19 has impacted us all at varying levels, but for those who were already struggling with food insecurity and to make ends meet, the pandemic has made a tough situation dire. The pandemic brought a new level of demand for assistance from those we already serve and from those who have never needed assistance before. Job loss, business closures and school closures created demand from across all demographics.
While we may not see as many heartwrenching images of car lines stretching onto feeder roads that were so prevalent earlier in the pandemic, the need is still great. The lines are holding firm, not getting dramatically shorter like we saw over summer, as people are working but at less hours, and many forms of assistance have ended. Houston Food Bank is currently distributing about 800,000 pounds of food per day. That is double our distribution at the same time last year, and down slightly from a high of 1million pounds per day just earlier in the pandemic. Unfortunately, we anticipate this elevated rate going well into 2021.
For food banks, the pandemic brought new challenges and has tested us in ways we’ve never been tested before. How do we respond to more need with increased restrictions? How can we do more with less volunteers? How do we make sure the trunks are filled?
We pivot.
We pull from our disaster playbook, but we are also adding to it.
Partnerships, old and new, help turn challenges into opportunities. This includes amazing retailers and distributors helping source food when the supply chain was stressed; businesses like United Airlines turning a baggage facility into a food sorting facility manned by their employees; fellow nonprofits finding ways to collaborate, like YMCA of Greater Houston providing furloughed employees to help in various capacities; Harris County providing funding to help us hire temporary labor; and the National Guard providing dedicated labor that helped us, among other things, to establish new Neighborhood Super Site distributions to get an influx of food into specific areas. Coming together has created impactful solutions for the community.
We are finding new workforce streams. Houston Food Bank relies on volunteers to provide food for better lives, and COVID-19 impacted this crucial area more than just about any. We have been hiring temporary labor to get the massive job done. Laid-off or furloughed hospitality workers are are being employed to help us meet the need, and the income is helping them not become a client in our food line. It is a double win.
As for food supply, it is not a holiday issue as much as it is a pandemic issue. What we have mainly been getting is surplus. The economic disruption is creating surplus food which is a positive resource for us but this will get harder as we go into the new year. Programs like Farmers to Families Food Boxes will end next month because these trade war surplus purchases are ending. So, we are looking at what food banks are calling a commodities cliff. We do the best we canwithwhatwe have — food banks know how to be flexible and harness opportunities — but we do have some challenges ahead. We continue to look for more ways to find food.
Another big question is, how can the public help? Volunteer.
While we always need and greatly appreciate monetary gifts, our biggest need right now is the donation of time. It is no small feat to accomplish the task set before us now, and we are simply not able to do it without the generosity of those who give their time. We understand the dilemma of volunteering amid stay-at-home orders and recommendations and social distancing efforts, but we work very hard to provide a safe atmosphere for our volunteers whether at one of our warehouses or at an outdoor distribution. We care for you as you help us care for others.
I think the big takeaway is that we are all still learning about — and from — this pandemic. We have much to do and understand, but we have made great strides and hope that that continues. If events like Hurricane Harvey have taught us anything about ourselves, our neighbors and our city, it is that we are strong and resilient. Houston Strong.