New Grant Funding Helps Houston Food Bank Rescue More Food From Local Grocers
Grant from Walmart and Feeding America will enable increased access for neighbors facing hunger
HOUSTON … Houston Food Bank announces a $750,000 grant from Walmart and Feeding America®, part of a continuing, multi-year partnership to strengthen food donation efforts between food banks, partner agencies and local retailers.
Funded by Walmart and awarded to 13 food banks in the Feeding America network of local food banks, the Retail Agency Capacity Grant equips food banks’ partner agencies – food pantries, meal programs – with equipment, vehicles and staff to support “food rescue” efforts, in which grocers donate fresh, frozen and shelf-stable foods to food banks and agency partners.
This vital funding will directly help Houston Food Bank bring more food to our neighbors in need. As one of 13 food banks to receive this Retail Agency Capacity Grant, the money will be used to equip our local food pantries and meal programs with the resources – including vehicles, equipment and staff – to rescue surplus food from area grocers. This means more fresh and healthy options for the communities we serve.
A recent Map the Meal Gap study conducted by Feeding America shows that Texas continues to have the largest food-insecure population in the nation with 5,366,440 Texans facing food insecurity. (The rate grew from 16.4% in 2022 to 17.6% in 2023.)
The data confirms that the food insecurity crisis in Texas is growing as our food banks continue to see high demand for food assistance. These specific demographics saw significant growth impacts:
- 1 in 7 Senior Texans are experiencing food insecurity. It increased from 9.8% to 13.6% since last year’s report.
- 1 in 9 White, non-Hispanic Texans are experiencing food insecurity. It increased from 10% to 11%.
- 1 in 3 Black Texans are experiencing food insecurity. It increased from 28% to 31% since last year’s report.
“Houston Food Bank provides more than 120 million nutritious meals annually to our 18-county coverage area, but we do not do it alone,” says Brian Greene, president/CEO of Houston Food Bank. “The generous support of donors like Walmart helps us to further our mission of providing food for better lives.”
With these grants, Walmart has donated a total of $15.75 million to 33 food banks and hundreds of partner agencies to increase their capacity to recover and distribute fresh food. These investments have led to substantial increases in the number of weekly donated food pickups through new equipment like refrigerated vans, added staff and new technology and training.
“Increasing access to food is key to Walmart’s purpose to help people to live better, and we’ve been working with Feeding America for the past 20 years to help local food banks and agencies recover and distribute more food donations,” said Julie Gehrki, Senior Vice President at Walmart and President of the Walmart Foundation. “We’re honored to build on this work through our support of Houston Food Bank. We look forward to collaborating to get more fresh food to people who need it.”
This year’s grant announcement continues a celebration of 20 years of partnership between Walmart, Sam’s Club and Feeding America that’s grown into one of the most transformative collaborations in the hunger relief space – with approximately $271 million in donations – including more than $177 million from the company and the Walmart Foundation and nearly $95 million from customers and members. Walmart and Sam’s Club have also donated more than 9 billion pounds of food to the Feeding America network of local food banks and partner agencies since 2006, making them Feeding America’s largest corporate donor.
For more information on Houston Food Bank and its programs, please visit www.HoustonFoodBank.org.
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 120 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.
Website houstonfoodbank.org; Social media: @houstonfoodbank (Instagram and X), @thehoustonfoodbank (Facebook)
About Philanthropy at Walmart
Walmart.org represents the philanthropic efforts of Walmart and the Walmart Foundation. The Walmart.org team works to tackle key social and environmental issues relevant for the retail sector in collaboration with others to spark long-lasting systemic change and help people live better in the communities we serve. To learn more, visit www.walmart.org.
About Feeding America
Feeding America is committed to an America where no one is hungry. We support tens of millions of people who experience food insecurity to get the food and resources they say they need to thrive as part of a nationwide network of food banks, statewide food bank associations, food pantries and meal programs. We also invest in innovative solutions to increase equitable access to nutritious food, advocate for legislation that improves food security and work to address factors that impact food security, such as health, cost of living and employment. We partner with people experiencing food insecurity, policymakers, organizations, and supporters, united with them in a movement to end hunger. Visit FeedingAmerica.org to learn more.