BRYAN, Texas — The Brazos Valley Food Bank extends a helping hand not only locally but where they’re needed.
At the food bank, they create these boxes not knowing whose hands they’ll fall into but knowing they’re providing relief to families in need.
Now 10 days later and families from Louisiana are still left to pick up the pieces after hurricane Ida.
”For people who are impacted by disaster, I can’t imagine the turmoil from having to re-locate from where you came from and make arrangements to get by in the meantime,” said Shannon Avila, the programs manager with the Brazos Valley Food Bank.
Natural disasters are unpredictable, but the food bank gathers with local partners ahead of time to prepare for the unknown.
”The food bank works with local agencies who have told us ahead of time that they’re willing to help in times of disaster to kind of stock them before seasons like hurricane season,” Avila shared.
The Brazos Church Pantry assists the food bank with getting food to evacuees. While the Salvation Army not only provides them with food but other resources such as clothing and hotel vouchers.
”When hurricanes and other natural disasters hit, we’re able to mobilize as a full network," said Ebony Knight, the operations manager for the Brazos Valley Food Bank. "And put our resources where they might be needed the most, so in reference to hurricane Ida we have been able to immediately put reserves that we already had created,”
With these reserves, they’ve been able to help about 15 evacuee families.
And the number of lives they’re impacting continues to grow as they move to the next phase of their support.
”We’re calling them hurricane bundles," Knight shared. "Those are going to be some ready to eat items, some items that might be more complete meals and then some water to help people through their immediate needs right now,”
Ebony Knight feels accomplished to see her work come to fruition.
”It’s actually kind of seeing all the work that we do day in, and day out come to life," said Knight. "We spend a lot of time preparing for natural disasters long before they occur in hopes that we can immediately respond and effectively respond,”
Knight shared that now not only are they supporting families impacted in Louisiana but also along the east coast, so where their help is needed food reinforcement will be delivered.
The food bank is continuously serving communities near and far in need to minimize hunger in America. Learn more about how you can support their mission here.