“We've had this 66% increase in three years, yet our supply has not increased to meet that demand,” said Kristine Marlow, president and CEO of the Montgomery County Food Bank. “We have worked on our end with our partners to be able to bring that food in, but ... we're concerned that without having enough food come in for our situation right now, that we're not going to be able to meet the [future] demand.”
The big picture
Feeding America, a 501(c)3 nonprofit agency, released its 2025 report in May showing increases in food costs and in individuals reporting difficulty finding affordable food.
According to Feeding America’s Map the Meal Gap report, the annual food budget shortfall for residents in Montgomery County has risen from $37.2 million in 2019 to $64.5 million in 2023. The study also showed that as of 2023 there were 98,400 individuals struggling with adequate food supply, a number Marlow said is still shy of current numbers.
“That's a published number, but we are seeing that people need a lot more help than that,” Marlow said. “There are way more people who actually need the help, and especially in the summertime right now, when kids are home from school.”
As previously reported by Community Impact, President Donald Trump is pushing for his budget reconciliation bill to pass the Senate. Within the bill is a plan to cut more than $286 billion by 2034 from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
SNAP is a program that provides food benefits to low-income families to supplement their grocery budget to afford essential foods. Currently, SNAP requires most people ages 16 to 59 to follow work rules, meaning a person must be working or participating in a work program at least 20 hours per week, according to the Texas Health and Human Services.
In Houston, about 350,000 households from the Fort Bend, Harris, Montgomery and Waller counties receive SNAP benefits, which equates to 22% of all state SNAP cases, according to the Kinder Institute for Urban Research.
Assessing the impact
Marlow said a key concern has been the rising cost of food in both grocery stores and through the food bank’s procurement process, which also helps provide resources to local food pantries.
“It's very expensive. You know, people are working paycheck to paycheck,” Marlow said. “Most people that we serve are working individuals that just can't make ends meet. If you throw in a car repair bill or ... a medical bill, it puts them into that situation where they have to turn to the food bank and our food pantries for assistance.”
The strain is also being felt among agencies which provide food pantry services across the county, such as Interfaith of The Woodlands, where officials said they expect to see a 20%-25% increase in food pantry services over the summer.
“We believe that we're going to see an increase in families coming in without question,” said Missy Herndon, president and CEO of Interfaith of The Woodlands. “What we tend to find particularly during higher need times, and what we expect with the SNAP changes, will be that families will be coming in from all over, because they'll start calling around and looking for additional support.”
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the federal poverty level is set at $15,060 annually for a single individual, and it rises to $31,200 for a family of four. However, the threshold to be considered a “low income household” has continuously risen over the last five years according to U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development data.
In East Montgomery County, the strain on low-income households is starting to widen the food insecurity gap, nonprofit officials said.
“Groceries are becoming more expensive. Income is not going as far. Rent is becoming more expensive ...that's all gotten tremendously more expensive,” said New Caney-based nonprofit Mission Northeast Executive Director Tricia Bledsoe. “I couldn't point my finger at any one thing, it's just becoming harder overall, and our population is certainly showing signs of that.”
The strain is also being felt in agencies such as Meals on Wheels in Montgomery County, which provides meals to just over 1,000 homebound seniors who are reliant on the program for nutrition and transportation needs.
“The rising demand has been one of the things that's constant and not slowing down,” MOW Executive Director Carrie Watkins said. “The issue we're facing now is with the instability in government funding. It's a tricky step, because when we take on a senior, we're committing to the rest of their lives.”
Final takeaways
Bledsoe said one of the biggest misconceptions some may struggle with is the stigma of seeking food bank and food pantry assistance. However, with the rising cost of living in the region, more individuals are starting to feel the strain in their own budgets, she said.
“When you start looking at it from that perspective, you realize that's a person who's living paycheck to paycheck not because they can't manage their money, but because their money is just not going to stretch as far,” Bledsoe said.
With schools also out for the summer, there is also an increased need to ensure children still get the nutrition they need on a daily basis to support healthy development.
“The summer months are very high need months for us, particularly with so many students at home, and they're not getting the programs from school that they're used to getting,” Herndon said. “We already are seeing that.”
At the food bank, Marlow said work on their new 18,000-square-foot facility was nearing completion, and it will help provide up to 1 million more meals annually in the community. She said local business leaders and individuals can also help by donating any amount of food or monetary contribution to your local food bank and pantries, as well as high-need items such as:
- Canned soups
- Canned vegetables/fruits
- Hot and cold cereal
- Peanut butter and jelly
- Dried pasta and grains
