The pandemic unleashed an overwhelming number of pitfalls for families to navigate through, and unemployment and food insecurity have hit home for thousands of them.  2020, in August alone, the Central Texas Food Bank served 112,000 households across its 21-county service area, which translates to more than 350,000 individuals, said Paul Gaither, spokesperson for the food bank. Of those households, more than 18,000 used CTFB services for the first time, about 16 percent of the total.

Along with food stamps (SNAP), local resources like CTFB and UT Austin’s food bank, UT Outpost, have also seen an uptick in clients since the pandemic hit Austin.

“Once the Travis County Covid-19 stay-at-home order hit, Austin had to shift its model quickly we  knew food insecurity doesn’t care about a pandemic,” said Will Ross, UT Outpost coordinator. “If anything, (the pandemic) amplifies that need.”

This is why Saffron Trust Womens Foundation (STWF) knows how important partnerships are to filling just “ONE BELLY”  and through the partnerships of Cooks Nook, Central Texas Food Bank and Farmhouse Delivery we also addressed nutritional insecurity.

Thank you to those across Travis County who are doing their part!!!