WACO, Texas — The food pantry at Family of Faith Worship Center in Waco opened its doors with one item.
"Nineteen years ago we started the food pantry with a six-foot folding table and bread we handed out in our Sunday morning service," said Pastor Ruben Andrade.
Now, they're working to expand their warehouse because the need continues to grow.
"It's sad, it really is sad when people come through the line and say 'If it wasn't for this food pantry we wouldn't have anything to eat,'" said Andrade.
Andrade stands in the gap for families and children, serving 800 individuals every week.
"I believe God has called us on this corner, in this community, to be a blessing as a whole," Andrade said.
Among those blessings: books.
The non-profit Literacy ConneXus says meeting nutritional needs can greatly improve a child's educational outcome.
"The main idea is trying to leverage those existing resources to fight summer hunger and fight the hunger for books at the same time," said Dr. Linda English of Literacy ConneXus.
Literacy ConneXus and Transformation Waco are partnering with 6 News for the Waco Community Book Drive, which is part of helping kids avoid the summer slide.
"They're going to make their way to the hands of kids throughout Waco that don't have access to them during the summer months," English said.
Literacy can stop a cycle of poverty and food insecurity.
"We believe a world without hunger is possible," said Jill Hatcher, Senior Director for Public Service and Innovation at the Baylor Collaborative on Hunger and Poverty. "We believe hunger is solvable. So our mission is to cultivate scalable solutions that end hunger."
The Collaborative has pioneered research that gives community partners the tools they need to make a difference.
"What we've found is hunger is important to a student's life," Hatcher said. "Without having continuous nutritious food, they'll have a lot of interruptions in their education. Not being able to sleep, concentrate; worry and anxiety."
Together, the organizations are planting the seed in the next generation to grow healthy minds and bodies.
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