This painting, titled “Teamwork”, was painted by Michael Rodriguez for the Houston Texans, a dedicated partner of the Houston Food Bank, who gifted this piece to the Food Bank to be displayed here for volunteers to enjoy.

Michael Rodriguez is a Houston artist and multimedia designer who interweaves fine art, street art, the art of illustration and graphic design, while addressing the constructs of 21st century painting.

Another piece by Rodriguez is a mural titled “Houston Gives” located in the back hallway, connecting the employee/overflow parking lot with our main building.

2017-2018, Oil on canvas

“That was Harvey. This is Houston” painted by Sarah Fisher was created during Hurricane Harvey and traveled to various places in Houston during and after the storm, including Houston Food Bank. It has now found a permanent home along the Food Bank’s Main Street in the volunteer area. From Fisher: “To commemorate the magnanimity of Houstonians’ resilient and altruistic response to Hurricane Harvey, I painted this monumental, human-scale, eight-panel, oil-on-canvas portrait of my fellow volunteers. This group worked together seamlessly accepting donations outside NRG Center the day after Harris County Judge Ed Emmett and BakerRipley CEO Angela Blanchard opened a shelter there to care for people impacted by the storm. These volunteers exemplify the whole-hearted spirit that emerged all over the city and carried Houston through those dark, anxious days last September.”

The original Keegan Kitchen was located in the old End Hunger Building on I-45. Our new Keegan Kitchen inside of our warehouse at Houston Food Bank East Branch was built in 2016 to expand the capacity and centralize the location of the kitchen with our main warehouse. The kitchen is 10,000 sq ft, big enough to produce up to 20,000 nutritious meals every day.

In addition to being one of our volunteer areas, where meals for Kids Cafe are prepared, and where our 535 Catering team whips up delicious meals, Keegan Kitchen is also the base for our Community Kitchen program.

2017

Myke Venable is fascinated by geometry and designing patterns, and approaches art with a Holistic approach. His philosophy behind art is positive with mindfulness, and his art found its way into people’s home, buildings, and now his piece “Slipstream” is on view at the Food Bank. The 4’x8’ piece is latex paint and acrylic on wood, a trapezium with lines that represent different timelines, in a slipstream shifting into different timelines. “Once you set a timeline you get into the slipstream. Energy.” Philosophy of the art: “Representation of timelines as it relates to slipstreams. Relates to getting into the flow of life and energy. It’s a mindset, focused and effortless. Meditative. Mindfulness. Creating positive art focus through color and shape. Based on Universal Geometry.”

The HEART (Housing, Entrepreneurship and Readiness Training) Program is a partnership between the Houston Independent School District (HISD) and the Houston Food Bank. It is an internship program for students between the ages of 18-22 years with developmental disabilities who are currently finishing high school. HEART participants learn basic life skills, job readiness skills, establishing a daily routine, and more. They have their own classroom at the Food Bank, as well as their own teacher.

The HEART Garden creates a beautiful and welcoming space for our many volunteers and visitors to admire. It provides Garden Education classes for our HEART students. The students will be taught how to care for the garden and perform weekly maintenance tasks. It grows fresh vegetables and herbs for use in the Houston Food Bank’s Community Kitchen Program. And our chefs will use the vegetables and herbs the garden produces in our Houston Food Bank Texans Café dishes.

Some of the crops grown in our garden are yellow squash, green beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, a variety of herbs, sunflowers, marigolds and much more.

Our Carousel Room, one of our volunteer areas, is 10,500 sq-ft and features industrial technology used in car assembly lines to aid in food sorting. The carousel system travels around at 4 mph while volunteers at different stations take boxes off, inspect and sort the items into different categories, and put sorted boxes and bins back on the carousel to travel into the warehouse where they will be taken off and put on to pallets to be stored. The Houston Food Bank is the first food bank to use this technology.

The Albert and Ethel Herzstein Foundation was established in 1965. The Herzsteins hoped that their gifts would enrich the human spirit and improve the quality of life for others. It was with these ideals that in 1987 Albert became involved with the Houston Food Bank and its search for a new home. Their foundation facilitated tremendous growth in hunger relief by donating funds to purchase our 2nd home in 1988, a 73,000 square foot warehouse on US 59 and Cavalcade.

The mural in our repack room where volunteers pack and create boxes and bags of food was created by Daniel Anguilu in Fall 2019. The mural features Anguilu’s signature bold color palette with black outlines and spans two walls and soars 30 feet high. Anguilu’s style is deeply inspired by his Mexican heritage, and mostly manifests itself as large-scale, aerosol murals. Anguilu’s description of his mural: “The sun is our source of energy, rain is the love that falls down on earth to bring life the corn – the gift of our ancestors, thousands of years of working with plants, corn brought us together to create culture. Painting this mural reminds me that I always have my culture as a Mexican to understand water and our relationship to rain, and to create my own definition of a bank and to share art with my community that is smart and big as an elephant. Paz.”

In 2008 Mitsubishi had a forklift rented out in the Galveston area. Unfortunately, as Hurricane Ike was approaching, they could not make it out in time to retrieve it as it was off of the mainland. Ike hit Galveston hard causing the flood waters to submerge the sitdown forklift. After Mitsubishi was able to recover it, they donated the shell of the forklift to the Houston Food Bank to be on display in our front lobby. This forklift serves as a reminder that the Houston Food Bank is always here for our community when disasters strike – hurricanes, COVID pandemic, winter storms…we are always here for our neighbors.

Houston Food Bank’s 308,000 square foot warehouse is the home and starting point for the receiving, recovery, repacking, and distribution of nutritious meals to fuel hunger relief organizations. Here, food is received from various sources, such as farms, grocery stores and the community from food drives. HFB volunteers and staff then inspect and sort the food, which is then stored in the warehouse, and given out through our 1,600 community partners.

Dry Storage
We are able to store non-perishable products like grains, beans, canned goods, and other non-food products in this area. This also allows us to store supplies for our programs.

Freezers
Local and surrounding grocery stores, including H-E-B, Kroger, Target and Sam’s, donate meat, dairy products, and other perishable items that are stored in our freezers. These freezers are set to 0°F or -10°F. The non perishable items are kept frozen until it’s distributed to our partners.

Coolers
The three cooler systems are set to different temperatures to accommodate various dairy and produce products, ensuring everything is kept at its freshest for distribution, especially produce which makes for nearly half of HFB’s distribution.

The photo walls are used in a multitude of ways and have a lot of capacity for sparking conversations around Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. While highlighting volunteers on the photo walls is one aspect of what can be done, the photo walls also serve as an area of community education and/or spotlight. You may see different cultural heritage months highlighted, different schools we serve, different colleges or universities being highlighted; depending on what month it is, or special visits we’ve had in the recent past. The main focus of the photo walls is to get people talking and show them things they may have never seen/thought of/experienced before. The photo walls also provide an opportunity to bring to light difficult things happening in our world, i.e. systemic oppression and the various ways it can affect people living in the margins of our society.

Our mission: Food For Better Lives.
More than 1.1 million people in the 18 southeast Texas counties served by Houston Food Bank are considered food insecure, meaning they lack consistent access to enough nutritious food to fuel a healthy life. In order to address this issue, the Houston Food Bank distributes food and other essentials to those in need through a network of 1,600 community partners. In addition, we also provide programs and services aimed at helping families achieve long-term stability including nutrition education, health management, and help in securing state-funded assistance.

Our vision: A world that doesn’t need food banks.
We provide programs and services that aimed at helping families achieve long-term stability including nutrition education, health management and help with securing state-funded assistance. Our hope is that one day there will no longer be a need for food banks.

Our values:
Purpose
Accountability
Courage
Transparency

These are the behaviors expected by our staff to uphold when interacting with others, as we work to accomplish our mission in the community.

Catered events with community impact. 535 Catering by Houston Food Bank provides superior food and service, from breakfast trays to plated meals. Our kitchen can cook anything from breakfast Kolaches, Box lunches and Red velvet cake for dessert. Schedule events of all types at our on-site conference center and 535 Catering will work with you to make sure you have a great food experience, too.

Our award-winning facility is bustling with volunteers and filled with tremendous energy from a collective force of community partners who work together to solve hunger in southeast Texas. It can accommodate events and meetings for groups ranging from 10 to 400 during regular business hours and some evenings and weekends. Our room offers also exclusive catering that comes directly from the Houston Food Bank kitchen.

The Houston Food Bank offers a program for all walks of life. Highlighted in this area are some of our success stories.

The Food Rx program provides healthy food and nutrition education for those in need. Margaret was able to improve her nutrition by receiving free, healthy food and using the information she learned from the program to change her life style.

Our Backpack program works to fill the weekend gap for chronically hungry children. Destiny relies on the program to have food at home on the weekend. She is always happy to receive her backpack and bring home food.

Food Scholarship Program. This helps people supplement their grocery budget by providing healthy food while they work to complete specific programs such as higher education, financial literacy, and job training. Dominique was able to benefit from this while pursuing her Doctorate in Health Studies at Texas Woman’s University. When she was unexpectedly diagnosed with Leukemia, it made it difficult to cover expenses, the Food Scholarship program was able to help.

Kids Cafe program. They help provide fresh food daily to kids and teens in afterschool programs and during summer. Along with nutritious meals, Kids also learn healthy habits that help them improve their mental and physical growth.

Our Nutrition Education Program aims to reduce food insecurity and hunger by promoting good nutrition and teaching healthy eating habits through classes

A mural by Michael C. Rodriguez, an artist and multimedia designer whose unique style and subjects have earned him a reputation as one of the original voices in Houston’s art scene.

This mural is titled “Houston Gives” and anchors the long entryway from the employee/overflow parking lot behind the warehouse building which leads to the main building. “During my tour at the Houston Food Bank, I was pleasantly surprised about the number of people who are being helped. It was also great to see the amount of people who donate food and volunteer,” says Rodriguez. “I started to brainstorm about possible concepts for the mural and how to illustrate everything I learned on my tour. I had the idea of painting different areas of Houston based on top of different types of food. The food represents visually how integrated HFB is in our city and communities.”

Food insecurity and hunger are serious topics, but we also want to make sure people have fun, memorable experiences at the Houston Food Bank helping their community. Throughout our 308,640 sq. ft. home, you will see colorful works of art like the “Pringles” hanging over the main stairs. These creative sculptures also double as a sound barrier between the two floors.

Houston Food Bank’s drivers and transportation team are a crucial aspect of our operation. With vehicles ranging from pickup trucks to 53-foot trailers, our fleet drives routes that cover the entire 18-county service area, delivering food and supplies to our partner sites so they can distribute what is needed directly to their communities.

Fun Fact! The type of trucks used for our mobile pantries are traditionally beverage trailers, meaning they are refrigerated. Thanks to this, they are used to distribute perishable foods directly from the truck!

Anat Ronen is a Houston-based, self-taught artist who became a professional artist in her late 30s following a decision by her family to emigrate from Israel to the USA to change their lives. Her work is found throughout Greater Houston including public spaces like interstate highways, bridges, buildings, churches and schools.

“I decided to go with the very obvious subject matter when I was asked to design this mural. Sometimes the simplest things can make the biggest impact, and the obvious – when taken out of context – can make a huge statement. Add a little playful seasoning, and you get a fun mural that delivers a big message. For me, it was fun and interesting to play with my subject matter in terms of shapes, sizes and colors, and to make sure the composition as a whole fits the ‘canvas’ while emphasizing the importance of fresh produce to our health and the Houston Food Bank’s mission.”

Food banks play a crucial role in reducing food waste through rescuing food that is perfectly good to eat but not up to the standards of many buyers. Houston Food Bank also employs additional sustainability practices and green initiatives to help reduce waste and contribute to creating a cleaner, healthier environment

Thanks to generous gifts from Green Mountain Energy’s Sun Club, SolarSPARC programs and NRG, the Houston Food Bank is able to convert sunshine into power that lower our utility bills and save the equivalent of three meals per hour. 440 solar panels cover 5,300 square feet on the Food Bank’s roof and generates 96,000 kilowatt hours annually.

The Wellness Committee works to promote health and wellness for everyone with a strong focus on: nutrition, physical activity, and mental health. Houston Food Bank has three dedicated areas for employees who are encouraged to utilize when needed which includes a gym with equipment, a lactation room, and a “Mindful Moment” room.

The Mindful Moment room is intended to fulfill employees’ physical, spiritual and religious needs by creating a comfortable space for decompression, prayer, meditation, quiet reading and other work-appropriate activities that help relieve stress. Staff are encouraged to limit their time in the room to 15 minutes to allow enough opportunities for all to use. The Mindful Moment room, Gym, and Lactation Room are sponsored by Cigna and overseen by our Wellness Committee.

A piece by Dan Dunn of Paintjam welcomes employees and visitors on the second floor of the main employee/overflow parking lot entrance.  Dunn has been speed painting since 2004, appearing on “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon,” “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” and the Pregame Super Bowl Show.  He has performed all over the world, and sales of his paintings have raised millions of dollars for charities.  His star rose in 2007 when his 13-year-old daughter posted his video on YouTube. 

“The Apple” for Houston Food Bank was painted to music before a live audience at an outdoor fundraising event in October 2017.  It was commissioned by Rob Schanen.

Everything we do in our jobs advances food for better lives and we perform our job duties with food bank values – Purpose, Accountability, Courage, Transparency –  to get to a world that doesn’t need food banks. 

Purpose: Using our strengths passionately to contribute to our mission.

• Purpose is something we all share; it’s why we choose to work here
• Your personal motivation meaningfully connects with our mission
• You are contributing to and actively supporting others
• Enthusiastically meets internal and external customer needs
• Brings positive energy to every situation

Accountability: Choosing to rise above one’s circumstances and demonstrating ownership to achieve results. See it. Own it. Solve it. Do it.

• Is proactive in seeking feedback
• Asks first if there is a connection between one’s behavior and results
• Accepts personal responsibility for one’s performance
• Maintains a personal standard of excellence
• Consistently asks, “What else can I do to get results?”
• Thinks ahead and plans with a focus on solutions
• Takes action and follows up

Courage: Standing up for what’s right and taking action.

• Provides current and actionable feedback, even when it’s uncomfortable
• Acts with integrity at all times
• Takes reasonable risks to achieve the goal
• Is independent in thought and actions
• Dares to ask questions, no matter the audience
• Does something when it’s easier to do nothing

Transparency: Doing things openly and honestly.

• Communicates in a clear and specific manner
• Involves those affected by their decisions
• Recognizes the concerns of others
• Lets people know why – without being asked
• Makes all relevant information available internally and externally

We are grateful to our generous donors who continue to go above and beyond to nourish our neighbors. Their support helps ensure children, families and seniors in southeast Texas get the food and services they need in order to achieve long-term stability. Trees are used to represent physical and spiritual nourishment, and liberation. With the help of generous supporters like the ones seen here, we can ensure Houston Food Bank has the means to Feed The Line > Shorten The Line > End The Line to reach our vision of “A world that doesn’t need food banks.”