BRAZOS VALLEY — A little rice, beans, sausage and salad brought together hundreds in the Brazos Valley community for the 30th Annual 'Feast of Caring' to ensure no family, child or senior goes hungry.
The event has fed thousands in need for the past three decades, and the impact is felt every year as inflation continues to rise nationally and locally.
Theresa Mangapora is the executive director of the Brazos Valley Food Bank.
“Really the impact of the higher food cost is on us – the people that live in this community. Going to the grocery store is really tough. The food pantries we work with are seeing a lot more people every month," Mangapora said.
People like Ralph Trujillo Jr. have attended and donated to the summer event for 10 years in a row, simply to make an impact.
“Everybody needs a little help, and we don’t know who needs it. That’s the reason I’ve been coming,” Trujillo said.
Trujillo has lived in Bryan for over 20 years and has seen the city grow. As every day passes, he sees the need to continue helping his neighbors here in Bryan.
“If a stranger were to go by my house and needed food, I would feed him whatever I had," Trujillo said.
Bryan native Herbert Hubert started his support five years ago and has continued coming to support an initiative that draws over 1,500 people yearly.
“You know it’s nice to help one another, it looks like it's more and more each year that come here. It's nice to show that support,” Hubert said.
Hubert said it’s ultimately about the people that have kept him coming back for years.
“That’s why I like coming out. it’s about showing how much people really care, I get to see people I don’t know and people I do know,” Hubert said.
Missed this year's 'Feast of Caring'? Community members can always bring donations to the Brazos Valley Food Bank. More information about the food bank is on their website: https://www.bvfb.org/