The Caring Place holiday food drive strives to support families in Georgetown, north WilCo

The most needed items are in-date, nonperishable:

• Canned vegetables
• Canned soups
• Boxed cereals and breakfast items
• Peanut butter
• Canned proteins
• Personal hygiene items

The history

The Caring Place was founded in 1985 during an economic downturn, Executive Director Ginna O’Connor said. Churches in the area had an influx of people in need, and two women—Yoli Branson and Marty Maxwell—had a vision to create one place in the community where people could have their basic needs met.

“The Caring Place has grown with the community to be a major safety net provider,” Executive Director Ginna O’Connor said. “Our mission is to provide for the basic human needs of all people in our community in a welcoming, respectful and caring way.”

Last year, The Caring Place served 11,391 people through its various outreach services.

The current situation

The Caring Place is conducting its first food drive since the pandemic after a few years of not accepting food donations. These community food drives help supplement the partnership that The Caring Place has with the Central Texas Food Bank, O’Connor said.

The Caring Place receives approximately 85% of its food from the Central Texas Food Bank, including shelf-stable, fresh, and frozen options, Food Programs Manager David Heath said in an email.

As a free choice shopping pantry, The Caring Place strives to provide a variety of food in a grocery store-like experience.

The cause

Food pantry needs continue to increase every month, particularly over the holiday season, O’Connor said. Through August, The Caring Place has experienced a 6% increase in visits to the food pantry, a trend that stays steady, according to Heath.

“That's really why we're here,” O’Connor said. “It's not just for food insecurity, but the idea is if we can help a family with food, hopefully that helps stretch their monthly budget so that they can meet their household expenses because everything's getting more expensive.”

O’Connor and Heath said they think there is a combination of factors contributing to an increased demand in the food pantry, including population growth and rising costs of necessities.

Many of the families that The Caring Place assists are working families or retirees with a fixed income, O’Connor said.

Get involved

There’s many ways to get involved with The Caring Place, the food drive being just one of them. The organization relies on volunteers, with about 400 people helping out across the food pantry, thrifts stores and donation intake.

Those looking to get involved can volunteer, make financial donations and shop at The Caring Place thrift stores, both in Georgetown.

“We're a community-founded [and] community-supported, and everything that The Caring Place does goes back into this community,” O’Connor said.
”We would not exist if not for the incredibly generous support of this community in every way.”