Complete Resource on Texas Food Banks
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A food bank is a non-profit organization that collects, consolidates, and distributes foodstuffs to different charities working on alleviating hunger. The food banks do not give directly food to recipients but rather serve as a depot for food storage and distribution to frontline charities or agencies.
There are many food banks in the United States, they range from small operations which usually serve rural areas, to food banks that are large facilities or supply depots with the capacity to store and distribute millions of pounds of food each year. No matter what scale these food banks rely on volunteers and donors for their operations.
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The Importance of Food Banks in Texas
There is a considerable segment of the food insecure population in Texas that grapples with their daily nutritional requirement.
One of out 8 Texans or nearly 4 million Texans suffers from food insecurity. Among these food insecure sectors in Texas include children, senior citizens, persons with disabilities, and working families. These are present in every county in Texas.
For a breakdown, around 20% of children in Texas experience hunger, 11% of households in Texas with senior citizens face food insecurity. Other data include; 1 out of 4 African-American children face the prospect of hunger, 18% of Latinx children are at risk of hunger. Rural families have a greater risk of hunger due to their distance, and this results in few and unreliable job opportunities and limited access to adequate and healthy foods.
Thus the role of food banks in the state to combat food insecurity and hunger is very essential. Currently, there are 21 food banks that are members of Feeding Texas, a non-profit organization that operates as a statewide network of food banks across the state which covers 254 counties.
Each food bank in the network, each are responsible for the counties in their designated service area.
Here is a list of Texas Food Banks ( click on the link for the food bank’s website):
Brazos Valley Food Bank
Founded in 1985 by a group of Bryan/College Station residents who worked toward creating a local food bank. It has grown through the years now feeding over 60,000 individuals with over 5.5 million pounds of food per year.
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Food Bank Contact Details
Brazos Valley Food Bank
1514 Shiloh Ave.
Bryan, TX 77806
Phone: 979-779-3663
Counties Served
Central Texas Food Bank
Started in 1981 as the Capital Area Food Bank Inc. it was rebranded as the Central Texas Food Bank in 2016 and is the largest hunger relief charity in Central Texas.
Food Bank Contact Details
6500 Metropolis Drive
Austin, TX 78744
Phone: 512-684-2550 or toll free 855-684-2550
Counties Served
Coastal Bend Food Bank
Since 1982 Coastal Bend Food Bank has been fighting hunger and food insecurity in the Coastal Bend area by providing food and personal food care products to various charity and service agencies.
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Food Bank Contact Details
826 Krill Street
Corpus Christi, TX 78408
Phone: (361) 887-6291
Counties Served
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Concho Valley Regional Food Bank
A community-based organization with the resources of a national campaign, its annual volunteer hours total over 3,000. The Concho Valley Regional Food Bank’s outreach extends through 13 counties in West Texas. It is an affiliate of the San Antonio Food Bank and a member of both Feeding America and Feeding Texas.
Food Bank Contact Details
3201 Robertson Road Tyler, TX 75701
903-597-3663
Counties Served
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Food Bank Contact Details
9541 Plaza Circle, El Paso, Texas 79927
915-298-0353
Counties Served
Food Bank of the Golden Crescent
Opened in 1986 as the Community Food Bank of Victoria. In 2007 it was changed to its present name, it has distributed nearly 50 million pounds of food valued at $70 million. It receives donations from H-E-B, Walmart, Sam’s Club, Target, Walgreens, and other national retailers, as well as local growers and community members.
Food Bank Contact Details
3809 E. Rio Grande, Victoria, Texas 77901
361-578-0591
Counties Served
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Food Bank of the Rio Grande Valley
Incorporated in 1986 it is the 7th largest food bank in Texas and the 49th largest food bank in the United States. It aims to serve the Rio Grande Valley where up to 146,000 experience food insecurity.
Food Bank Contact Details
724 N. Cage Blvd., Pharr, Texas 78577
956-904-4538
Counties Served
Food Bank of West Central Texas
Founded in 1983, Food Bank of West Central Texas is a member food bank of Feeding America. In 2020, the food bank has distributed 5.5 million pounds of food, with an estimated wholesale value of $9.8 million.
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Food Bank Contact Details
5505 N. First St., Abilene, Texas 79603
325-695-6311
Counties Served
Galveston County Food Bank
Founded in 2003 by Mark Davis and Bill Ritter as Gleanings From The Harvest Galveston, operating at a Galveston Island Church. In 2010 it relocated its operations to Texas City.
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Food Bank Contact Details
213 6th Street N., Texas City, 77590
(409) 945-4232
Counties Served
High Plains Food Bank
It has been combating hunger and food insecurity problems since 1982. The food bank covers the 29 counties in the Texas panhandle.
Food Bank Contact Details
817 S. Ross St., Amarillo, Texas 79102
806-374-8562
Counties Served
Houston Food Bank
Founded in 1982, the Houston Food Bank is the largest food bank in the United States in terms of distribution. It provides hunger relief to 18 counties in southeast Texas.
Food Bank Contact Details
535 Portwall St., Houston, Texas 77029
832-369-9390
Counties Served
Montgomery County Food Bank
Founded in 1985 by a group of concerned individuals in Montgomery county. The food bank currently serves 55,000 individuals per month.
Conroe, TX 77385
936-271-8800
Info@mcfoodbank.org
Counties Served
North Texas Food Bank
Established in 1982 it distributes donated and purchased food through a network of 200 partner agencies in 13 counties in North Texas.
Food Bank Contact Details
4500 D. Cockrell Hill Road, Dallas, Texas 75236
214-269-0906 / 855-719-7627
Counties covered:
Regional East Texas Food Bank
Founded in 1988, this food bank has provided food to over 200 partner agencies and food programs covering 26 counties in East Texas.
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Food Bank Contact Details
3201 Robertson Road, Tyler, Texas 75701
903-597-3663
Counties Served
San Antonio Food Bank
The San Antonio Food Bank was founded in 1980 and covers 29 counties. Its focus is for clients not just to have food for today but also to have resources to be self–sufficient in the future.
Food Bank Contact Details
5200 Old Highway 90 W. San Antonio, Texas 78227
210-431-8326 / 800-246-9121
Counties Served
South Plains Food Bank
This community-based organization founded by Carolyn Lenier and Lodie Kempie in 1983, now serves 20 counties in West Texas and employs more than 9,000 volunteers per year.
Food Bank Contact Details
4612 Locust Ave. Lubbock, Texas 79404
806-763-3003, Ext. 26
Counties Served
South Texas Food Bank
Founded 1989 with a mission to alleviate hunger in South Texas. It’s operations began in a storage room of the old Loros supermarket (Now the HEB Mercado Store). It now serves 8 counties.
Food Bank Contact Details
1907 Freight St. Laredo, Texas 78041
956-726-3120
Counties Served
Southeast Texas Food Bank
The food bank has its origins in 1991 when it was a satellite distribution organization of the Houston Food Bank. In 2002 it became an independent food bank serving 8 counties.
Food Bank Contact Details
2600 Cullen St., Fort Worth, Texas 76107
817-857-7100 / 866-430-6143
Counties Served
West Texas Food Bank
Founded in 1985 by a group of concerned residents in Odessa who wanted to help address hunger and food insecurity issues in West Texas. In 2017 it won the Feeding America Green Innovator Award.
Food Bank Contact Details
411 South Pagewood Ave. Odessa, Texas 79761
432-580-6333
Counties Served
Wichita Falls Area Food Bank
Founded in 1982 to address the need of centralizing food procurement and distribution to those in need. The food bank now serves 12 counties.
Food Bank Contact Details
1230 Midwestern Parkway, Wichita Falls, Texas 76302
940-766-2322
Counties Served
These are the food banks that are part of Feeding Texas and are listed as Texas Food Bank Network providers under the Texas Health and Human Services, they can assist individuals in filling out their application for their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) formerly known as food stamps.
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