Issue date: 2/23/09 Section: News

Media Credit: Jeremy Northum The Brazos Valley Food Bank is overflowing with food and products, though the economy has slumped nationwide. [Click to enlarge]

Media Credit: Jeremy Northum [Click to enlarge]

When the economy fails, the hungry get hungrier, the indebted incur more debt and there's nothing anyone can do about it.

"There are so many people that live paycheck to paycheck, and when an emergency happens, what do you do? And where do you go," said Rhonda Behrens, a manager of the Brazos Valley Food Bank. "I'm very emotional and would go home crying every day. That's why I like being behind the scenes to help feed the hungry."

Though the U.S. has been in a recession for a little more than a year, food banks and food pantries in the Brazos Valley haven't fought the same hardships as other businesses and organizations.

Pallets of food and supplies fill shelves and spill over onto the floors because of lack of room. Amid the failing economy, an overstock of food in the food bank remains.

Local food pantries get supplies to divvy out to the public at the Brazos Valley Food Bank. Food, diapers and basically anything that can be purchased at a grocery store can be found at the food bank.

"The difference between a food bank and a food pantry is that a food bank is a big collection pot," she said. "Food pantries get their food from various sources to help those in need."

In January, there were two trucks sent to Madisonville to distribute food to families in need.

Behrens said they had to turn people away because the trucks could not go back to the warehouse and fill up again.

"We take donations all throughout the year. There doesn't have to be a special event. Organizations or individuals can always come donate food. During spring and early summer are great times to donate food," Behrens said.

Some go to the backpack program for children in need, others go to the senior outreach program but the bulk would go to food pantries.

The backpack program is for elementary-aged children in need. The teachers get food from the food bank and put it in a backpack for the children to take home. There are about 330 backpacks each week that go to 13 schools in the Brazos go to 13 schools in the Brazos Valley area.

"There are currently 150 seniors in the senior outreach program," Behrens said. "That will increase to 300 the first week of February."

"Meals on Wheels has partnered with the food banks. We put together bags of food and Meals on Wheels distributes the bags of food with their hot meal."

Behrens said the biggest food shortages are in June and July, because students are thinking of school, going back home and taking vacations, not about the constant hunger of different people in the community. There are still programs to raise donations and money for the food bank during this time.

"If someone comes into the food bank and they're in need, we will provide them with food. We'll take care of them and refer them to pantries in the area," Behrens said.

Generally, individuals in need do not get assistance from the food bank. They will generally go to a food pantry, which limits a client to one visit per month. Clients, however, may visit as many pantries as they need.

The groups the food banks work with are nonprofit such as Boys and Girls Club, Brazos Valley Council on Alcohol and Substance Abuse and other organizations. When these organizations request food, there is an order form provided by Brazos Valley Food Bank they must submit.

The Brazos Valley Food Bank is partnered with the Houston Food Bank. That food bank has contact with USDA foods that are ready to go. The USDA supplies 7.5 percent of the food going into the food bank.

Behrens said volunteers buy 95 percent of the food for the senior outreach program and the backpack program. Volunteers go to local grocery stores and buy almost expired supplies. The food is put into a cooler to keep it fresh.

"All kinds of organizations and community service workers volunteer . There are different reasons for their community service," Behrens said.

The volunteers are put through a training program to ensure there will be no mistakes made when inspecting food and preparing it to go out to people in need.

There are also food drives where donations are made to the food bank. KBTX had a food drive for the Brazos Valley Food Bank in December.

"There were a lot of donations from the food drive," Behrens said.

The food bank provides all the necessities - fertilizer and seeds - for a federal prison's garden. When the produce is grown, the Hamilton Unit brings the matured produce to the food bank for distribution.

"Without volunteers we couldn't do it," Behrens said gesturing to all the products that still had to be checked.

There is a staff of eight at the Brazos Valley Food Bank, two of which are part-time employees.

In 2008, more than two million pounds of food were distributed. There were also meals ready-to-eat leftover from the hurricane relief efforts.

"We depend on the community to do fundraising for us," she said.

Other ways to get the money needed to keep the food bank running are the grants received from the government.

"I've worked for the food bank for eight years. This is the most food I've seen in the warehouse," she said.

Other groups help the hungry by taking a more direct approach. A&M Church of Christ, along with nine other churches help feed the hungry, house the homeless and search for jobs for the jobless.

"Our church is involved in a churchwide program called Family Promise," said Foree Grove, a minister of A&M Church of Christ.

The purpose, he said, is to help people get back on their feet.

Family Promise is a program to help with the basic needs of families and those who wish to better themselves. During the day, the adults look for jobs or get job training and the children go to school.

While the families take part in Family Promise, the church provides them three meals a day. The family only stays one week.

The families move from church to church until they get back on their feet.

Members of the congregation care for the families. There are two people who stay with them during the night. "They try to serve them, help them and make [the situation] as easy a possible," Grove said.

Although the church would potentially help anyone in need, for the families in Family Promise, there is a 14-person limit.

"The program started last fall," Grove said. "It took a couple of years to organize it, get churches involved but we're trying: giving it the old college try, so to speak."

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