We would like to express our sincere appreciation for our continued partnership with the Houston Food Bank and share an example of how this partnership is helping us meet needs in our community that extend beyond providing food.
Through our partnership with the Houston Food Bank, including the opportunity to receive backhaul donations and pick up donations from selected retail stores, R.O.W. is able to provide families with resources that we might not otherwise have access to. These donations remind us that food insecurity is often connected to many other challenges families face, including housing expenses, utility costs, transportation needs, personal-care needs, and access to basic household necessities.
Recently, fans donated by Walmart became a tremendous blessing to one of our clients and neighbors. During the hot summer months, her window air-conditioning unit was not properly cooling her home. Replacing or repairing the unit was not an immediate option, and the temperature inside her home had become increasingly uncomfortable.
Because R.O.W. had received donated fans through our retail partnership, we were able to provide her with a fan to help circulate the air and make her home more comfortable. To some, a donated fan may appear to be a simple household item. To this neighbor, however, it represented relief during some of the hottest days of the summer and demonstrated that someone in her community cared about what she was experiencing.
This is what Reaching Outside Walls means to us.
Our mission is not limited to placing food in a bag or groceries in a family’s vehicle. R.O.W. seeks to recognize the person behind the need. When someone comes to us for food, we understand that hunger may only be one part of what that individual or family is facing. When resources are available, we want to be positioned to respond to the whole person and help meet practical needs with dignity, compassion, and respect.
Our partnership with the Houston Food Bank makes that possible in meaningful ways. Being able to receive backhaul items and pick up donations from selected stores expands our capacity to serve. One week, the greatest need may be groceries. Another week, it may be household supplies, hygiene products, clothing, or—as in this case—a fan that helps a neighbor remain more comfortable in her own home.
We are especially grateful to Walmart for its donations and to the Houston Food Bank for creating and maintaining partnerships that connect valuable resources with organizations like R.O.W. that are working directly within the community. Instead of usable products going to waste, these items can reach individuals and families who genuinely need them.
At R.O.W.—Reaching Outside Walls, we believe outreach requires us to go beyond the walls of our organizations, buildings, and traditional programs to see people, recognize their needs, and respond whenever we have the resources to do so. Our partnership with the Houston Food Bank strengthens our ability to carry out that mission.
Together, we are not simply distributing resources. We are reaching outside walls, meeting needs, restoring dignity, and reminding our neighbors that they have not been forgotten.
With sincere appreciation,
Pastor Sonya D. Peten
R.O.W. (Reaching Outside Walls) Food Pantry
