Hindsight is 20/20, remains even truer after the past year we have all experienced. What would you have done differently if you could have foreseen this past year? Maybe visited family more often, took a road trip, or saved money.

This past year seized many freedoms that we took for granted, along with creating new challenges for so many, but it also brought compassion for others beyond anyone’s expectations. The Galveston County Food Bank is continually striving to fulfill its mission “to lead the fight to end hunger in Galveston County” which was met with many challenges throughout the past year due to the pandemic. Even with those challenges, we distributed 8.5 million pounds of nourishing food and product in 2020. Prior to this year, over 56,000 Galveston County residents were at risk of food insecurities. Due to obstacles brought on by the pandemic, such as unemployment and reduced work hours, the poverty rate in Galveston County has increased to 13.2%. Thankfully, through our collaboration with Feeding America, Feeding Texas, Houston Food Bank, various retailers and over 80 Galveston County partner agencies, we were able to meet the growing demands to distribute nourishing food to residents in need. Our services include delivery of food to the seniors and disabled, children’s meal programs and mobile trucks delivering nourishing food into neighborhoods across our county. Due to all of these efforts, we were able to serve 410,896 individuals in 2020. We continue to ensure that food locations are easy to locate with an interactive map on our website under the “Find Help” tab.  We also utilize social media platforms to communicate up-to-the-minute updates and changes.

Volunteers are a vital part of our operation from sorting donated products, building food boxes for seniors and children’s programs, distributing food at mobile locations and more. The increased support from the community has been overwhelming with over 64,000 volunteer hours spent with our agencies in the Galveston County area. We have had many churches, schools and private organizations reach out to offer their sites for mobile food distributions. We have also been blessed with residents committing their time and efforts by hosting food and fund drives on our behalf. All of our success is credited to the ongoing community support we receive on a daily basis.

We reflect on this past year with appreciation to everyone who was able to share a little of themselves. Hindsight is 20/20, but our future is now and ending hunger is something that is not behind us. Please consider giving your neighbor a healthy future. We are still in need of volunteers, food drives, advocates and donors. Visit our website, www.galvestoncountyfoodbank.org, to learn more.

Will you help us to lead the fight against hunger?