With troops leaving, food bank in need of help
National Guard phasing out, but demand for meals still sky-high
Since mid-April, the National Guard has been essential to the success of the Houston Food Bank, helping distribute more than 89 million pounds of food after volunteer numbers dropped and demand skyrocketed during the pandemic.
Next week, that all comes to an end.
After a farewell ceremony on Friday, the more than 200 members of the National Guard will begin phasing out of their roles at the nation’s largest food bank. By Wednesday, the last are expected to depart, and the hands that have helped the organization keep up with growing food insecurity will disappear, according to Brian Greene, Houston Food Bank president and CEO.
“We’ve just got a lot to make up for,” Greene said of the guard’s departure. Greene is not expecting any additional deployments from the National Guard in the coming months.
Yet demand for food is still tremendous — as much as 150 percent higher than usual. Based on this number, the food bank estimates that about 2.75 million people are food insecure in its service area. In June, the organization saw a 171 percent increase in households
served per week — reaching close to 160,000 — from a year ago, with distribution often exceeding 1 million pounds per day, according to internal food bank data.
Sorting and distributing all that food requires a significant crew.
“Labor was already a problem,” Greene said. “Labor’s an even bigger problem now.”
With social distancing mandates and COVID-19 spikes in Houston, the food bank and other partner organizations have struggled to meet the labor demand, relying on smaller shifts and the National Guard.
Normally able to handle up to 1,000 volunteers per shift, it’s now down to a maximum of 150 volunteers per shift, not including the National Guard. The overall number has been much lower during the pandemic, said Jermaine Harmon, director of volunteer services for Houston Food Bank. With fewer corporate groups coming in to serve and Houstonians wary of contagion, the organization doesn’t always fill even these reduced shifts.
Recently, volunteer numbers are dropping again, and Harmon thinks it’s because of the COVID-19 spike.
Several administrators expressed that the National Guard has been essential during this time, and Harmon suggested they often tripled or quadrupled output of normal volunteers. “These guys don’t mess around,” said Paula Murphy, publicist for the Houston Food Bank. “There’s just no way we could have done this without their help.”
For the National Guard, 2nd Lt. Randy Trevino oversees the 55 troops deployed here. “I don’t know how many times I’ve been told, ‘God bless you, thank you for helping out,’ ” Trevino said. The troops, some of whom left families and jobs behind, were initially deployed through May, but Greene still needed their help and the deployment kept getting extended.
Montgomery and Galveston counties’ food banks have also benefited from the National Guard. Faith Lane, director of programming at the Montgomery County Food Bank, said she feels fortunate to have had the National Guard’s help for the past 11 weeks. But next week is their last, and Lane is working hard to secure volunteers.
“Those numbers could be challenging with folks not wanting to come out too soon,” Lane said.
In order to meet crushing demand and allow more volunteers to work, the Houston Food Bank recently opened another warehouse on Market Street and will have a third warehouse ready for volunteers in early August. Each one can handle an extra 30 volunteers per shift.
Despite their fears, Houstonians still show up to lend a hand. Some are temporary workers hired through YMCA or Harris County programs, and others just want to want to be helpful.
“It’s better than staying home and worrying,” said Marianne Hembree, 66, who is retired but started volunteering at the Houston Food Bank at the start of the pandemic. “When you think about other people, it does get your mind off your own problems.”
After he was laid off earlier this year, Lorenzo Snow, 47, got a job at the food bank through the YMCA. But he gets so much joy from helping those in need that even when he’s not on the clock, Snow comes to serve.
The lack of volunteers has also impacted other Houston aid organizations.
The Houston Parks and Recreation Department’s Summer Food Service Program for school-age
“When you think about other people, it does get your mind off your own problems.” Marianne Hembree, 66, food bank volunteer
children has lost at least 120 food distribution sites since last summer, some due to staffing issues. The majority of these independent sites were apartment complexes and churches that relied on volunteers to function, according to Rummeka Allen, administrative coordinator for the Summer Food Service Program. Several church sites were staffed by senior citizens, now too vulnerable to volunteer, and many apartment staff offices are closed due to the pandemic.
When schools went virtual and after-school activities stopped in March, the city extended the Summer Food Program from its usual three months to nearly five and a half. Allen said that after a drastic surge in March and April, they’ve seen a slight decrease in demand, which she attributed to families having more time to plan for the summer. Occasionally, sites can’t meet demand, and have to direct the children to other locations.
The uncertainty of the next few months — school schedules, hurricanes and the economic recession — leaves the future of these programs in limbo. Allen isn’t sure what to expect when school starts. “Everything is so by-the-minute,” Allen said. “We’re waiting to know how school is going to proceed and what that’s going to look like.”
At the Houston Food Bank, they’re already gearing up for hurricane season, and the National Guard has helped prepare special relief boxes before they leave.
“The food bank knows how to deal with a Category 5 hurricane,” Murphy, the organization’s publicist, said. “This is something that you’ve never seen.”