What to know about services and donations

How do I get free food?

Residents can’t actually pick up food at the food bank itself.

Rather, volunteers help distribute food and other donations to more than 1,600 partner agencies across 18 counties, which is where people can go to get food.

Those in need of assistance can visit, at www.houstonfoodbank.org/find-help/ or call 832-369-9390.

What services does the food bank offer?

The food bank does more than serve food. The organization hosts a number of programs, including help applying for SNAP enrollment benefits, nutrition education and more.

Who can use the food bank?

Anyone who needs help can visit the food bank. Some programs do have requirements, but others do not.

There is no limit to how many times someone can visit the food bank.

What donations does the food bank need?

The food bank accepts many kinds of donations, including volunteers, money and food itself.

In fact, it is in desperate need of all of of these things. 

COVID-19 eroded the food bank’s army of 85,000 volunteers, many of whom have yet to return. Meanwhile, service demands remain about 25 percent higher than before COVID as Texans continue to rely on charity to combat skyrocketing inflation that has pushed national food prices up by more than 9 percent over the last two years. 

Anyone older than 6 can volunteer at the food bank, and the organization is perhaps most in need of this kind of help.

But that’s not the only way to aid. People can also donate money online or by contacting the development department, 713-547-8623.

For each $1 that is donated, the bank can provide as many as three meals because of its partnerships with manufacturers and distributors.

Finally, residents can donate non-perishable food items in red barrels at their local grocery store. Frozen food, however, is not accepted from the public.

Visitors find many items at the food bank useful, but have been especially grateful for fresh produce, officials said.