Austin News

State Sen. Judith Zaffirini (D-Laredo) promoted a resolution honoring Texas food banks for their performance during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

It was passed by the Texas Senate on March 16. Food insecurity dramatically increased in Texas over the course of the pandemic, with some saying the number of people in need increased by 25%. 

"Thank you Sen. Judith Zaffirini for passing Senate Resolution 142, memorializing Texas food banks’ heroic efforts during COVID and the recent storms" Derrick Chubbs, the president and CEO of the Central Texas Food Bank, said. "It is an honor to be part of a group that works tirelessly to provide food to so many in need."

Chubbs' food bank provided 97 million meals in the counties it served last year. 

"Due to the pandemic we saw a spike in needs like we’ve never seen before, but we were also able to access support from our community, from the government. to ramp our operations practically overnight to be able to serve 10 million meals per month" said Trisha Cunningham, the CEO and president of the North Texas Food Bank. 

Overall, food banks exceeded expectations during the pandemic. 

"We’ve provided access to about 120 million meals and our goal for 2025 was 92 million" Cunningham said. 

The food banks in Texas have received support from a wide variety of sources. The heavy metal band Metallica donated $75,000 to food banks in Texas in the wake of the recent power outages, using their nonprofit group All Within My Hands. A tweet from the organization cited empty shelves in grocery stores in Texas as the impetus for the donation and told their followers to go to feedingtexas.networkforgood.com to give money for food themselves.

Samsung also provided support for the food banks. On March 5 it donated $1 million toward their community partners in Texas with $250,000 going towards food banks. That money will account for 750,000 meals for people in need.