In the chilly Austin wind Tuesday morning, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn put on clear plastic gloves at the Central Texas Food Bank mobile pantry and grabbed a turkey.
“Good morning!” the senator from Texas said to drivers outside the Church of Christ at East Side as he popped his head in view, food in hand. Cornyn joined food bank staff and volunteers in placing two-weeks’ worth of food, including a Thanksgiving dinner, from the mobile pantry into the trunks or back seats of vehicles. About 250 families received food from the site, officials said.
“Being back in Texas makes me very happy — getting out of the swamp in Washington, D.C. and back to talk to real people,” Cornyn told reporters Tuesday morning. “It’s important to remember not everybody is doing well.”
Sari Vatske, the food bank’s CEO, said the center is seeing food insecurity reach COVID-19 pandemic levels, including a 30% increase in reliance on services. To combat this, officials have added 10 more holiday distribution centers in its service area.
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“The numbers are pretty staggering,” Cornyn said, adding that the “great partnership” between the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Feeding America and food banks like the one in Austin helps address the communities’ needs. On Tuesday, the food bank distributed about 13,000 pounds of food, Cornyn said.
The senator has volunteered at Texas food banks around Thanksgiving for the last several years, in part to highlight food insecurity and come up with solutions. Cornyn said that at a time when the national economy is “sputtering” due to high inflation, it’s important to keep the state’s economy and job creation strong to keep Texas a desirable place to live and work.
“The truth is, Texas is still a place where people come because this is where the American Dream is still very much alive,” he said. “Because this is the land of opportunity, and that’s really important that we keep it that way.”
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‘Remember those who are struggling’
The Central Texas Food Bank serves about 440,000 people across 21 counties annually, Vatske said. Inflation and higher living costs are contributing to the rise in food insecurity, according to Cornyn, and economist say the reinstatement of work-requirements for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program is pushing people into greater need, particularly those experiencing homelessness.
The food bank holds about two distribution events a day in Central Texas, or sixty a month.
Vatske said it’s important to have elected officials, like Cornyn, involved and to partner with them to gain support for a strong federal farm bill ― the only law that supports food banks directly, she said.
“As it stands in the current farm bill, there’s about $250 million available for purchasing food. And this year Feeding America food banks are requesting $500 million for the purchase of TEFAP (The Emergency Food Assistance Program) commodities,” Vatske told the American-Statesman. “We cannot do it alone.”
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Cornyn is encouraging people to get involved with the food bank this holiday season by volunteering and donating.
“It’s important at a time like this when many of us are enjoying the bounty of our great state and our country to remember those who are struggling,” he said. “And to support organizations like the Central Texas Food Bank.”