Kristine Marlow, president and CEO of the MCFB, said clients range from seniors, people with one or more jobs to make ends meet, and families with young children.
“I have found in my encounters with [clients], many of them ... did not realize they were going to have to stand in a line and ask for food,” Marlow said.
With the rise in demand, the food bank is undergoing a $6.5 million expansion, Marlow said. Meanwhile, the Community Assistance Center, a Conroe-based nonprofit, has seen a 30% spike in service demand from 2023 to 2024, President Jennifer Huffine said.
As Montgomery County continues to grow and the cost of living rises, it’s led some people in the area to question if they’re able to feed themselves, Marlow said.
The overview
The Montgomery County area grew 24.3% between 2018-2023, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Marlow said she believes that growth has played a large part in the increase in food assistance demand in the area.
In November, the MCFB served a record-high 97,000 clients, Marlow said.
The CAC has served 4.2 million pounds of food to more than 42,000 county residents since 2021, Huffine said. Another area nonprofit, Meals on Wheels of Montgomery County, currently has over 1,000 clients and has had nearly 4,000 total clients since 2015.
“Rising costs for housing and essential needs have forced families to make increasingly difficult decisions,” Huffine said.
According to 2022 data from United for Alice, in all eight ZIP codes that make up Community Impact’s Conroe and Mongomery coverage area, more than a quarter of households earn below the minimum income needed for household survival.
ZIP codes 77301 and 77306 account for over 16,000 households in the county and have at least 50% of households below the ALICE—asset limited, income restrained and employed—threshold.
The ALICE threshold represents the minimum income level necessary for household survival, based on costs for everyday essentials like housing, transportation, food and child care. Click on the map below to view specific data for that ZIP code.
The action taken
To address the need for food assistance, the MCFB’s $6.5 million expansion will help provide over 1 million more meals a year, Marlow said. The food bank has large amounts of fresh produce available but hasn’t been able to take it all in due to space constraints.
The expansion, however, will increase the size of the produce rescue center by four times, Marlow said, keeping more food waste out of landfills and providing healthy foods that are otherwise expensive to get.
“We were at a point where we were not able to accept the abundance of fresh produce that was available to us,” Marlow said. “We were actually leaving donated food on the table.”
The expansion is set for a late spring opening, Marlow said.
The CAC, Huffine said, also addresses long-term stability by connecting clients to case managers through its Hand Up Initiative and has introduced pop-up produce markets to ensure families have access to nutritious food options.
“The need in our community will always be greater than the resources available,” Huffine said. “But that won’t stop us from doing everything we can to serve those who turn to us for help.”
Carrie Watkins, president of Meals on Wheels Montgomery County, said the average time a client stays on its service is five to 10 years.
Beyond its meal delivery service, Meals on Wheels Montgomery County also runs free, Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant buses to transport senior citizens in the county, Watkins said.
Zooming out
Over 4.9 million Texans were food insecure in 2022, according to Feeding America, a nationwide network of food banks and local meal programs. In 2022, Texas had a food budget shortfall of $3.18 billion, which is the amount needed to purchase just enough food to meet food insecurity needs in the state.
Texas had a 16.2% food insecurity rate in 2022, above the national average of 13.5%, according to Feeding America.
Watkins, who is also a Meals on Wheels Texas board member, said educating politicians and decision-makers about the issues affecting the state plays a big role in getting local organizations funded.
“Those dollars that come from the top are critical for all Meals on Wheels,” Watkins said. “We all use those funds to be able to keep our services in place.”
How to help
Those interested in volunteering, giving financially or donating food can visit the following websites to find more information. This list is not comprehensive.
Montgomery County Food Bank
- 1 Food For Life Way, Conroe
- www.mcfoodbank.org
- 1022 McCall Ave., Conroe
- www.cac-mctx.org
- 111 S. 2nd St., Conroe
- www.mowmc.org
