The Houston Food Bank is a local non-profit foundation that provides free items to the needy and also administers a number of social services across Harris County. There are many programs available to help children and senior citizens, such as the Backpack Buddy program and meals on wheels. The programs offered by the organization are mostly focused on providing free food, but they are open to residents of all ages and incomes.
The Social Services Outreach Program (SSOP) can help you get applications for state and federal government benefits in Texas. There is a lot that the Houston Food Bank can help with.
Public assistance programs like WIC and SNAP provide food assistance to low-income mothers and their children. These programs are in high demand, especially during economic downturns. Programs such as CSFP provide free school lunches for children from low-income families.
SSOP provides other health care program and cash assistance. The food bank in Harris County can help with Women’s Health Initiative, Medicaid, or directing clients to Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).
The applicant will need to be low income and have supporting documentation to qualify for government aid. This documentation can include identification, proof of income, leases, utility bills, medical expenses, and details on savings and other assets. An applicant’s entire financial situation will be looked at when requesting assistance. If you need help with any of these options, or if you have any questions, staff from SSOP can be reached at 832-369-9390. They offer services in both English and Spanish.
There are many food pantries and soup kitchens around the city and county that provide emergency food. The HFB hotline provides contact information and hours of operation for HFB locations. Many community centers are operated in partnership with local churches, non-profit organizations, and groups such as the Emergency Aid Coalition. This allows the center to provide a variety of services and programs to the community. The hotline can provide more information about these locations.
Backpack Buddy is a program that provides free food or meals to students. The Houston Food Bank will work with schools and teachers across Harris County to confidentially provide food for children who rely on free or reduced-priced lunches. This means that they have a food source available to them at all times.
The Kids Cafe serves food or meals after school, and it is open year-round during the summer months and holidays. This program provides free food for children and is run in partnership with dietitians, students, chefs, volunteers, and others who coordinate their services with the Houston Food Bank. Many of the meals served by the food bank are prepared in-house as part of the Keegan Kitchen resource.
The Harris County community can receive nutrition education through various programs and resources. The food bank provides this service to help families budget their incomes more effectively and also prepare healthier meals. There are different sessions for different groups of people such as teens, low income elderly, children, pregnant mothers or babies, healthy adults, and, others.
The Senior Box Program provides discounts on groceries and perishable goods. The Commodity Supplemental Food Program provides low-income pregnant women, new mothers, infants, and children up to age six with supplemental foods to improve their diets. This is not a free program, but we encourage enrollees to pay a small amount of money for the box. The Houston Food Bank provides food to low-income residents, but there are income limits in place. This means that residents must meet certain income requirements to qualify for assistance, and there may be a waiting list for those who do not meet the requirements. For further information, please call 832-369-9390.
They say that a teacher’s salary is never enough. All too often, teachers have to spend their own money on supplies for their classroom. They can’t even count on their school district to provide everything they need. This is especially true in poorer districts. This problem was addressed by the creation of the Houston Food Bank Teachers Aid. It provides free school supplies, notebooks and more for teachers in low-income schools in Harris County. This is for teachers to help them provide a successful learning environment for students by allowing them to select the items they need.
One service that is administered is Serving for Success. This service is unique because it helps people who are trying to succeed. The Houston Food Bank offers job training that provides people with the opportunity to learn work skills on site.
Contact information for Harris County and Houston Food Bank
The Houston Food Bank can be contacted by phone at 832-369-9390. It gives a lot of details about these services.