Central Texas Food Bank gives out holiday meals in East Austin

Austin food bank gives out holiday meal

About 13,000 pounds of food, including Thanksgiving day turkeys, were handed out. The stockpile was enough to make more than 11,000 meals for 250 households.

AUSTIN, Texas - The food distribution line was long on Tuesday morning at the Church of Christ-East Side where about 13,000 pounds of food, including Thanksgiving Day turkeys, were handed out.

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) was among the volunteers loading up vehicles that rolled up. The stockpile was enough to make more than 11,000 meals for 250 households.

"I notice a number of the license plates, for example, have disabled veterans license plates, people with wheelchair insignias on the license plate. It's important to remember that not everybody is doing well and that some people are struggling," said Sen. Cornyn.

The Central Texas Food Bank serves families in 21 counties, and it’s estimated this organization helps 440,000 people who struggle to put food on their tables. Inflation, despite a recent drop, remains high, driving up costs and the need for assistance.

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"We are unfortunately seeing about a 30% increase in reliance on our services since March. We are reaching pandemic levels of need," said president and CEO Sari Vatske.

Spending time on a food distribution line is how Sen. Cornyn typically spends part of his holiday break from Congress. All the heavy lifting helps him re-energize, he said.

"Just being back home in Texas makes me very happy. Getting out of the swamp in Washington, D.C., back to talk to real people like the folks we've been talking to here," said Sen. Cornyn.

The food bank team wasn't done for the day after clearing out the line at the East Austin location. The crew relocated to another distribution site in Waco.