BELL COUNTY, Texas — One in seven Central Texans is food insecure. It gets worse when you factor in kids under 18. That's one in five.
The Central Texas Food Bank is working to address that with two free mass food distribution events. The goal is to help feed families facing food insecurity through the pandemic.
"It's going to take a long time for things to recover," Communications Director Paul Gaither said.
Gaither said the organization fed close to 400,000 Central Texans at the height of the pandemic in one month.
"There were a lot of people who lost their jobs, got their hours cut, and a lot of businesses that just close down," Gaither said.
The final mass food distribution for Waco will be Thursday, July 22 at the Waco ISD stadium from 10 a.m. until noon. The second will be in Temple at Temple College on Saturday, July 24 from 9-11 a.m.
They are hoping to feed close to a thousand families.
"The need for food assistance throughout Central Texas has been extreme through the pandemic. We've seen unprecedented demand and unprecedented stress on our resources," Gaither said.
The events are meant to be drive-through, so you'll just pop your trunk when you get there and the food will be placed in the back. But if you walk up, you won't be turned away.
If you want to help Gaither said monetary donations are best. Every dollar donated this summer will turn into eight meals thanks to a donor match.
They are also looking for volunteers for the drives. You can sign up online.