| Type | Non-profit |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1982 in Houston, Texas |
| Founder(s) | Joan and Stanford Alexander |
| Headquarters | 535 Portwall Houston, Texas 77029 |
| Key people | Brian Greene, President/CEO |
| Website | [1] |
Houston Food Bank is a private non-profit organization founded in 1982 in Houston, Texas that provides food and other products to more than 500 hunger relief agencies in southeast Texas. 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. A network of nearly 500 food pantries, soup kitchens, senior centers and other agencies, feeding a total of 137,000 people each week, provides more than 70 million pounds of food and prepared 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 organization's goals are reached through the community support of volunteering, food drives, monetary donations, and partnerships.[1]
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The Houston Food Bank allocates all donations by using only 5% of all resources for operation costs which allows 95 cents of every dollar donated to reach the hungry. The organization focuses on balanced diets, nutrition education, and social services provided through its programs: Backpack Buddy Club, Culinary Academy, Kids Care, Operation Frontline, Second Chance, and Social Services Outreach.[2][3]
As a certified member of Feeding America, the Houston Food Bank distributes nonperishable and perishable food items to more than 400 hunger relief agencies in 18 southeast Texas counties.[4] Its network charities include servicing church and community food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters for the homeless and abused, and nutrition sites for children and elderly.
In 2008, Houston Food Bank distributed 36 million pounds of food to its partner agencies. Realizing that nearly 900,000 people, including one in four children live in poverty throughout southeast Texas, the Food Bank embarked on a capital campaign with the goal to triple food distribution to 120 million pounds annually by 2018. Later that year, the Houston Food Bank and the End Hunger Network merged.[5] The former End Hunger Network is a food rescue organization that operates a food collection effort that places red barrels in area grocery stores to receive food donations from shoppers.
In 2009, the Houston Food Bank expanded a program that involves inmates who participate in a job training program. The hope is that the partnership will make all participants stronger to get through the bad economy. Several guards from the Texas prison system oversee the two dozen inmates that come over on a daily basis to learn what is involved in the day to day operations of a warehouse. Approximately 90 percent of the food bank orders and a very large proportion of the food sorting is processed by the inmates from Texas Department of Criminal Justice.[6] Houston Food Bank officials say that the slow economy has led to a 20 percent increase in the number of people the Food Bank is feeding in 2009.[7]
On September 13, 2008 Hurricane Ike made landfall on Galveston, Texas as a strong Category 2 hurricane. In the wake of this storm, hundreds of thousands of Texas residents found they could not obtain food without assistance. Before Ike hit, Houston Food Bank began to prepare itself and its member agencies for immediate disaster-relief in response to the storm. Sustaining moderate damage to its own facilities, the food bank increased efforts overnight to provide food, water, and supplies to families and individuals affected by the storm.[8] Of the 18 counties in Houston Food Bank’s service area, 15 were declared official disaster areas by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). By the end of October 2008, more than 20 million pounds of disaster relief food had been distributed by 7,500 volunteers. The volunteer’s efforts yielded more than 45,000 hours of time to the Food Bank post Ike.
Board of Directors 2010-2011
Chair
Benjamin Samuels
Victory Packaging
Vice Chair
Bill Breetz
Kroger
Secretary
Leslie Nelson
Randalls Food Markets
Treasurer
Janet Matura
TR Moore & Company PC
President/CEO
Brian Greene
Houston Food Bank
Board of Directors 2009-2010
Chair
Scott McClelland
H-E-B Houston
Vice Chairs
Armando Perez
H-E-B
Welcome Wilson, Jr.
GSL Welcome
Secretary
Sondee Hatcher
Community Volunteer
Treasurer
Leslie Nelson
Randalls Food Markets