Houston Food Bank still in high demand almost 1 year into the COVID-19 pandemic

HOUSTON - Now almost a year into the COVID-19 pandemic and millions of Americans are still struggling to put food on their tables.

"It’s like a hurricane that won’t go away," said Houston Food Bank President Brian Greene.  "Only, it’s a national hurricane."

According to Greene, the Houston Food Bank is currently serving a little less than 100,000 families per week.  A number down from a few months ago (almost 150,000 families), but still much higher than what they consider "normal" (roughly 50,000 families).

On Thursday, we spoke with Samantha Spencer. According to the local mother, her family of six has been struggling financially because of the pandemic.

"I’m not making nearly as much money as I was last year," said Spencer. "I’m working [though].  That’s what’s important."

Spencer says she received a new job at the beginning of 2020, but lost it once COVID-19 closures began. Since then, she has returned to a previous job but isn’t working as many hours. Fortunately, Spencer says her husband is still working, but it’s been tough financially having 4 kids including one with special needs.

"There’s not enough money there to pay every bill," said Spencer. "You’ve got to figure out which one is going to be first and which one is going to be second."

According to a new RICE University study, Houston Independent School District students need food now, maybe more than ever.

"17 percent of the students surveyed say they’re hungry at home because of a lack in food," said Kori Stroub a researcher with Rice University.

Stroub says the study took place in 2019 within HISD.

"That’s thousands of students in 2019," said Stroub.  "I can only imagine what it is now."

"This is a failure," said Greene.  "We’ve ramped up food distribution.  We’ve tried to target as much as we could, but we’ve got to do a better job."

While the Houston Food Bank always accepts and needs donations, right now we’re told they’re desperate for volunteers.  If you’re interested and able, click HERE.

"We have about a third of the normal rate of volunteers, if we’re lucky," said Greene.  "This is a time when we’re doing about 50 to 100 percent more output per day."