As the holiday season approaches, food pantries in the Tomball and Magnolia area have begun to see a rise in new customers. Food insecurity occurs when a household lacks adequate access to safe, nutritious food and many who are food insecure look to local food pantries and food drives to stay afloat.
The Montgomery County Food Bank partners with 97 local pantries in the area. Scott Burns, CEO of the Montgomery County Food Bank, said recent changes to welfare programs and grocery prices have led to more food pantry customers in time for the holidays.
“So on average, over the last several months, we’ve been serving our neighbors about 95,000 times a month,” Burns said. “In 2025, we saw a significant jump in October and November; it was 105,000 and 111,000 in November.”
Burns says that both Montgomery and Harris counties' food insecurity rates will continue to grow as their populations rise.
The conditions
According to Feeding America, since 2024 the food insecurity rate in Harris and Montgomery counties has stayed at 20.1% and 15.5%, respectively. In comparison, the national average for food insecurity in the U.S. is 14%.
Harris County
Montgomery County
Common ways to address food insecurity in communities include food banks and pantries, as well as welfare programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT).
Recent changes to SNAP and EBT took effect on July 3, 2025, with the passage of the Big Beautiful Bill (H.R.1). New standards include stricter work requirements, mandated work hours, immigrant eligibility restrictions, and the removal of exemptions for veterans and young adults.
These changes, along with rising national inflation, have left a major gap that food pantries can't fill through their local programs alone.
“SNAP is a much bigger resource, and this is not a situation where charity can fill the entire gap,” Burns said. “The amount of funds coming from those sorts of support systems, they're designed to be a safety net. They're not designed to be a permanent solution for people.”
Staying local
Society of Samaritans is a 40-year-old Magnolia food pantry run by assistant executive Lesli Fussell and Director Becky Benham. Both women said that compared to last year, their pantry has seen a major uptick in requests.
“We know that the economy is hurting some of our lower-income families more than normal. We've seen a rise in new clients pretty significantly, at least 20 to 30 new clients per week who have never sought out services. I think there's also been an increase with children,” Benham said.
Benham said that last year across all seasons, the SOS served 4,000 meals to children out of school. This summer alone, however, the food pantry has served over 4,000 meals to local Magnolia children.
John Norris is the manager of the St. Vincent de Paul food pantry in Tomball. With 21 years of experience as pantry manager, Norris said that food insecurity affects people from all walks of life and tax brackets.
Common reasons people have turned to the food pantry are unemployment, medical debt, divorce and loss of welfare. Norris said that he’s heard complaints from locals on welfare who have recently been randomly removed from the system and forced to reapply.
The action taken
Edwina Ary has lived in Tomball since 2017. In 2019, she had lost her job and later her son passed away from a motorcycle accident. Since her son at the time was helping supplement groceries for her and her children, who were too young to work, Ary turned to the St. Vincent de Paul pantry for support.
“It’s not demeaning when you have a need. I’m not embarrassed by it because it really helps supplement when you’re falling short," Ary said.
The pantry not only kept her kitchen filled but also helped with her bills as she searched for a new job. Ary said she's grateful for the help and that others who are currently struggling shouldn’t be ashamed to ask for help.
Policy breakdown
With the recent changes to SNAP and EBT eligibility, use of the program has fallen drastically over the past year.
According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, SNAP cases in Texas since July 2025 have fallen by over 18%.
John Everett is the executive director of the Baylor Collaborative on Hunger and Poverty. Everett said recent changes to SNAP administration funding have left many state governments choosing between reducing access and eligibility, or opting out of the program in its entirety.
“The resources have not kept up for the charitable food infrastructure to be able to support increased demand by people losing their SNAP benefits at a large scale,” Everett said.
Community resources
As the holiday season approaches, many food pantries have programs designed to keep locals fed over the holiday season. The Montgomery County Food Bank is running its annual Holiday Helpings Food and Funds Drive from Nov. 1- Dec. 31.
For every $1 the drive receives, the food bank is able to provide up to four meals to those in need. Norris said that St. Vincent de Paul hosts a Thanksgiving car drive the Monday before Thanksgiving; attendees usually receive goods like ham and other holiday foods.
The Tomball Family Feeding Families nonprofit will hand out Thanksgiving meals to locals Nov. 25. Come to the Table will also be serving 300 free meals to Magnolia locals on Nov. 26.
