A Teenager Provides for His Family

By on December 20, 2021   /   All   /   Leave a comment

A Teenager Provides for His Family

2021 has been another year of uncertainty as we try to return to a sense of normalcy. As we head into 2022, we are seeing rising grocery and gas prices—both of which are financial challenges for the families we serve.

Your generous support has allowed us to serve families and seniors in our community who need food assistance, like Francisco’s family.

Francisco is a 17 year-old student at Austin High School. He lives with his parents, Maria and Felix, and three younger brothers, two of whom are in school and one who has a chronic illness (not pictured). His father recently became unable to work and his disability payments are used for rent and utilities. Francisco’s family is struggling to make ends meet this holiday season.

Francisco has dreams of going to college next year to become an engineer. He is hopeful to receive a scholarship and in the meantime is taking classes to learn welding. To help his family, Francisco works as a cashier at Burger King. After leaving school for the day, he has an hour to get to work before his evening shift starts at 5pm.

His mother, Maria, says that Francisco is sometimes sad because he wants to do more to care for his family. Francisco is worried about his family’s wellbeing. Your support has relieved some of his stress as he dreams about going to college to become an engineer.

We wish you and your loved ones a safe holiday season and best wishes in the new year!

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A Thanksgiving of Giving

By on December 9, 2021   /   All   /   Leave a comment

Kendra and Mary pictured with Target Hunger staff.

A Thanksgiving of Giving

November 20th was our special Thanksgiving Grocery Distribution. This year and last, the way we did our distribution shifted as we adjusted to new safety measures because of COVID. Almost 150

volunteers lined up at their appointed times ready to serve their community. We set up two loading zones at our warehouse on Shotwell Street. Volunteers drove up to receive a grocery set-up that included shelf-stable holiday staples, vegetables, eggs, and a turkey for each family. The full cars then set off to deliver to over 1,000 families in northeast and east Houston.

Some volunteers enjoyed the experience so much they returned for more.. Two of those volunteers were Kendra Francis and Mary McArthur, representing their group – Alpha Lambda Beta. When asked about the experience and what made them want to do two rounds of delivery, Kendra said “We chose to do it because we’re supposed to do community service but definitely this is a warm and welcoming experience. This is my second go round, I’m so happy just to see their faces. It was such a wonderful thing; I can’t wait to do it again!”

We asked Mary her thoughts on the experience, and she said “We encourage you guys to come out and be involved and be a volunteer for your community. It was a great feeling being out doing what we love to do and seeing all their faces being very appreciative for what they’re receiving today.” Together Kendra and Mary delivered to 16 families that Saturday morning!

Sandy, our CEO, and Sean, our volunteer manager, pictured with volunteers from Port Houston.

What We’re Grateful For

We are so appreciative of all the volunteers that served with us to ensure these families had a special Thanksgiving. Deliverers that morning were done by board members, regular volunteers, donors, new volunteers, and even a politician. Congresswoman Sylvia Garcia delivered and visited with four families receiving food in Magnolia Park.

We also want to express our deepest gratitude to The Embassy of the State of Qatar who underwrote the cost of the turkeys and Port Houston who underwrote the cost of the holiday dessert.

As we continue in this wonderful holiday season, the need continues. We are partnering with the Houston Food Bank’s Share Your Holiday to get more holiday meals to the families who need it most. As the year comes to a close, we hope you’ll continue to support the work and make a difference this holiday season!

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Tis’ the Season, for New Garden Vegetables

By on December 3, 2021   /   All   /   Leave a comment

Tis’ the Season, for New Garden Vegetables

The last green beans growing in the garden!

There has been a lot of harvesting and new planting since we last checked in on our gardens, so we wanted to update you! The summer and early fall brought LOTS of produce, including an abundance of okra and green beans. As the weather cools, our garden team and many volunteer groups have been hard at work preparing the garden for the winter months. This includes weeding the beds, pulling the summer plants, and planting seeds for winter.

Winter vegetables must be prepared for cold weather. Mark, our Garden Assistant, says that anything planted for winter has to be able to survive temperatures lower than Houston usually gets. This year that includes turnips, collards, beets, radishes, cabbage, carrots, and a community favorite – mustard greens. Small collards and radishes are already beginning to emerge in beds in small, tufted rows, while the carrots are just beginning to show their tops. Amidst the new growth remain the vining green bean plants, still giving small amounts of beans. Massive okra plants remain among the already large mustard greens.

Students from Cobb 6th grade learning in our Shotwell Garden.

The Garden Team has also been working to develop educational curriculum over the last year. They taught their first class last month to students from Cobb Sixth Grade Campus which is part of Galena ISD. The kids spent half their time learning in the garden and the other half volunteering in our warehouse. This fun, educational field trip was a great opportunity for the students to learn about food insecurity in our community and how to grow their own healthy food.

Recently planted radishes growing for the winter.

The changing of seasons is always refreshing. It’s a joy to enter the garden and see the natural shift in what’s growing. Gardening is an opportunity to reconnect with nature in our ever busier, technology led lives. If you’re looking to take a breath and get outside in this beautiful weather, we would love to have you join us in the garden! You can sign up to volunteer here – we always have something to do! We hope to see you in the garden soon!

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