Patch Holiday Food Drive in WilCo: Give To Feeding America

WILLIAMSON COUNTY, TX — Feeding America, the nation’s largest hunger relief organization, predicted hunger would become an urgent problem as millions of Americans lost jobs, paychecks and, in some cases, their businesses because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Williamson County has not been untouched by the scourge of hunger. An estimated 11.2 percent of the population was categorized as food insecure in 2018, the last year for which statistics are available.

You can help. Patch and Feeding America teamed last summer to address the growing hunger crisis in America, connecting readers with the organization’s 200 member food banks serving 60,000 food pantries and meal programs while providing an easy way to donate money to help their neighbors.

Related story: Central Texas Food Bank Sets December Food Distribution Events

Now through Dec. 31, we’re encouraging readers to make a tax-deductible contribution to Feeding America in the Patch Holiday Food Drive. Every $1 given to the organization buys 10 meals.

Local resources in Williamson County include the Central Texas Food Bank mobile food pantry distribution points:

• Murphy Park Pavilion, every third Friday of the month from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m.
• Holy Temple Church, each second and fourth Thursday from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.
• St. Margaret Mary Catholic Church on every fourth Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.

Williamson County residents can get help with free food at one of the Food Bank’s pantry partners located in Bartlett, Taylor, Jarrell, Cedar Park, Georgetown, Leander, Round Rock, Florence and Hutto. Individuals can find a pantry near them by clicking here. To help keep families in Williamson County nourished, families can go to the Central Texas Food Bank's "Fresh Food For Families" distribution to get fresh fruits and vegetables at Zion Chapel every third Wednesday of the month from 11 a.m. to noon.

For the most up-to-date schedule information on our Mobile Food Pantry distributions in Williamson County, residents can call the Central Texas Food Bank hotline at (512) 684-2559.

Feeding America predicted last summer that 50 million people, including 17 million children, could face hunger by year’s end because of the pandemic. Feeding America projects the food insecurity rate in Williamson County will rise to 14.3 percent in 2020, up from 11.2 percent in 2018.

In announcing its participation during Giving Tuesday — the global day of giving when altruistic-minded people donate to their favorite causes — Central Texas Food Bank officials illustrated their mission by describing one of the 40,000 residents the group helps each year.

"Sylvia's husband is a sergeant in the Army stationed at Fort Hood in Killeen," officials wrote. "Financial hardships make life of a military family tough. Between paychecks, Sylvia nourishes her family with extra groceries from Operation Once in a Lifetime, a Capital Area Food Bank Partner Agency that serves active duty military, veterans and their families.

"No one should ever have to go hungry, especially during the holidays. With your donation, we can provide nutritious meals to families like Sylvia's and show them how much we appreciate their service to our country."

For its part, Feeding America said 80 percent of its food banks — that's about four in five — are serving more people than they were during last year's comparable period. With the pandemic worsening during the holiday season, many people who never before worried about paying for a meal now are turning to food banks for the first time.

From the beginning of the pandemic believed to have begun in March, Feeding America distributed 4.2 billion meals — enough to provide every U.S. resident with breakfast, lunch and dinner for just over four days.

In the first four months of the documented pandemic, four in 10 people were first-time visitors to food banks, according to Feeding America.

Patch news partner/Shutterstock

How To Support The Patch Holiday Food Drive

Patch has teamed with Feeding America to help raise awareness on behalf of the millions of Americans facing hunger. Feeding America, which supports 200 food banks across the country, estimates that in 2020, more than 50 million Americans will not have enough nutritious food to eat due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. This is a Patch social good project; Feeding America receives 100 percent of donations. Find out how you can donate in your community or find a food pantry near you.