Demand for food assistance remains high during COVID-19 pandemic
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- The Houston Food Bank and other charity organizations across southeast Texas continue to see extraordinary demand during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Brian Greene, the leader of the Houston Food Bank, spoke with Eyewitness News on Thursday about the efforts to make sure no one goes hungry.
"We're certainly helping at levels we never saw before. In the early months of this pandemic, we were distributing at the rate of about a million pounds a day. We still saw lines. The lines are down. Right now, we're doing about 800,000 pounds a day. That's not quite double where we were before the pandemic, but it's still way above what we're used to," said Greene. "The Houston Food Bank always work in collaboration so it is certainly not just us. It is all of these partners and all these companies and all these individuals stepping up."
Greene stressed that if people need assistance, they can visit the Houston Food Bank's website to find a resource in their community.
Living Water International Apostolic Ministries runs Joseph House at 7802 Jensen Drive in north Houston. Pastor R.C. Stearns and his wife Michelle Stearns spoke with Eyewitness News about the high demand. They said they're able to reach and feed almost 12,000 people a month.
"It is our responsibility to operate outside the walls of the church," said the pastor.
He also said that in addition to running the pantry, they've launched jobs programs and partnered with nearby businesses to provide furniture to needy families. He said the pandemic has resulted in an increase need in the community.
