Refuge For The Hunger: The Houston Food Bank

Refuge For The Hunger

The Agency I chose to volunteer at was The Houston Food Bank which is located off Portwall Street. This Agency was founded in 1982 and is a non-profit organization that distributes food to thousands of low income families all over Houston and to 18 southeast counties and was named the top charity in Texas for financial performance and accountability. Volunteering at the Food Bank was an experience that was amusing and worthwhile. I met many other volunteers and I also got a chance to speak with the Volunteer Service Representatives. The Volunteer Service Representatives helped explain the history and goals of the Agency. When I called The Houston Food Bank to ask questions about their volunteer program they transferred

They explained what voluntary duties we as a team had to do. I had to team up with a different partner each day and our duties as compeers included scanning, inspecting, repackaging, and making backpacks for children who had no food. I remember having one partner tell me how she and her husband both worked for Exxon Mobil for over twenty years and was both laid off. She also mentioned how their money went to bills and the little jobs they did have were no help. They were basically starving. With the help of the Houston Food Bank they took her to their emergency food pantry and all she had to show was a check stub and her identification. A lot of low income families that the Houston Food Bank had helped wanted to return the favor by volunteering. I heard so many stories from struggling families and how if it wasn’t for the Houston Food Bank they would have starved. There were also students from University of Houston who I worked with that were there for the same reason as I, to show our

I believe they should also give out food to people who have no jobs. It is hard for most people to even get a job which hinders them from feeding their families. The Houston Food Bank has an office within their facility that helps people get on Food Stamps (SNAP), but most of the time you are denied if you don’t turn information in on time or miss your interview. It sometimes take a week for the food stamp office to look at your information you turned in and another week for you to get a phone interview (I know this from experience). So for two weeks families have no food. How will they eat? Their goal is to expand 100,000,000 meals to families by 2018. I believe if they feed everyone who has a hard time getting food and not just families with jobs they will reach their goal a little