Recent events make it clear: Food insecurity can happen almost overnight. When Winter Storm Uri wreaked havoc across Texas early this year, the Montgomery County Food Bank was there, using its extensive distribution network to supply food and water to those who lacked electricity and working water pipes due to the unprecedented freeze.
It’s the kind of work Montgomery County Food Bank does each and every day in its mission to tackle hunger and provide reliable access to food. “We provide meals to families, seniors, children--anyone who lacks access to sufficient, nutritious food,” said Kristine Marlow, president and CEO of Montgomery County Food Bank.
During the early uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic in the spring and summer of 2020, Marlow said calls for help rose drastically. As food deficiencies were spiking because of the virus, the number of volunteers was dwindling for the same reason. The need was so intense that Texas National Guard troops were deployed to food banks throughout Texas to help with distribution. “The gratitude of individuals and families who turned to us at that time was overwhelming. Many of them had never faced hunger before,” said Marlow.
Mobile markets became the primary means of distribution, often staged in parking lots with the help of partnering apartment complexes and schools. Marlow said recipients simply pull up in their vehicles, pop their trunks, and receive much-needed food items, contact-free. She said Montgomery County Food Bank tries to ensure that clients receive at least 50% fresh produce, with the goal of providing everything a family needs to cook a balanced meal.
Reaching deep into communities and neighborhoods that need assistance is accomplished through an extensive network of “Partner Pantries” who know their own communities down to the street level and provide two-thirds of distribution for the food bank’s resources. One of these partners is The Abundant Harvest in Spring. Molly Carr is Executive Chef at The Abundant Harvest Kitchen, as well as Kitchen Pastor at St. Isidore Episcopal Church, the home of The Abundant Harvest.
Carr said it was the church that grew out of the food ministry and not the other way around. The Abundant Harvest started out as a single food truck in 2016 and had only been in operation for 6 months when Hurricane Harvey struck. The truck became a vital food resource for the many Harvey refugees whose lives were turned upside down by the storm.
The ministry has experienced major growth since then, and in March 2020 moved into a spacious facility on Oakhurst Drive, setting up a permanent food pantry in addition to their mobile service, just days before rising COVID numbers and subsequent stay-at-home directives sent the country, and the Houston-The Woodlands area, into a tailspin.
Carr said The Abundant Harvest reacted quickly, swinging their entire focus to the pandemic and feeding 1,000 families per week through the peak months of spring and summer 2020. The ministry ultimately served an incredible 1.25 million meals over the course of 2020 and increased the space set aside for its food bank from 300 to 3,000 square feet to meet the need.
The intensity of those months has receded, but the local need is persistent, said Carr. The Abundant Harvest currently feeds more than 700 families a week. The ministry has expanded to include a café and coffee house that are open to the public. The Abundant Harvest also provides meals-to-go that can be purchased with a donation, along with catering services through its fully functioning commercial kitchen. Chefs are all classically trained, including Carr herself. (Years ago, Carr decided to pursue a culinary degree after her young daughter told her she wasn’t a very good cook!)
Carr says donations are one vital component of keeping The Abundant Harvest rolling--the other is a full slate of volunteers. The food ministry has 120 slots a week to fill, from packing to delivery, to truck organization and cooking. “Full speed, with a full complement of volunteers, with all the prep in place, we can feed 1,000 people every 3 hours, and we can go where we’re needed most.”
Marlow too said donations are of primary importance, and that every year, the need increases during the holiday season. Many options are available for individual and corporate, including the food bank’s annual Holiday Food Drive starts November 1st and runs through December 3rd. Donations support food distribution, as well as nutrition education, school food programs and green initiatives. “We are excellent stewards of people’s donations. At Montgomery County Food Bank, one dollar equals five meals for those in need,” said Marlow.
More opportunities to give are coming up, including the food bank’s November 5th “Glamour in The Greek Isles” Fashion for Food event, to be held at the Peach Orchard venue in The Woodlands, and its annual Food for Life Gala, coming in April.
The pandemic has brought about uncertain times, but no matter what the months ahead bring to The Woodlands and surrounding communities, Marlow said the Montgomery County Food Bank and its partners like The Abundant Harvest will be there every day to feed people left vulnerable by life’s circumstances, including the pandemic. “We know the recovery process will be a marathon, and we’re ready.”