Texas ice storm: Hundreds of cars line up for Central Texas Food Bank distribution

AUSTIN, Texas - This week's winter storm has left hundreds of thousands of Austin residents in the dark for days during dangerously cold temperatures.

"We're staying in Kyle, and it's a little hard without electricity in our house," says Austin resident Joe Cruz.

Hundreds of cars lined up Saturday morning as Central Texas Food Bank distributed over 500 packages.

Travis County Judge Andy Brown says the food distribution is the first step of the recovery process. "You don't need electricity to cook the food, so it's all food that you can make meals without having to cook it in any way," he said.

As of Saturday afternoon thousands are still without power, says Judge Brown.

"It's absolutely horrible that people having to stay in their homes for so long without power so we're doing what we can to make sure people have food while Austin Energy works on getting the power back on," says Judge Brown.

READ MORE: Texas ice storm: Austin Energy still working to restore power

Cruz says this week has been hard on his family trying to keep everyone safe. "We're using a generator to get what we can to stay on to stay warm at the house and we have a little bit of ice in our ice box for our food," he said.

After hearing about the food distribution event, many local volunteers asked how they can help.

"I grew up here, been here my entire life, so when these calls came out, whether it's the Latino Coalition or other activist groups to support our community, we're going to show up," says Austin ISD Interim Superintendent Matias Segura.

READ MORE: Texas ice storm: 7 Austin ISD campuses remain without power Saturday

Segura even shared the plans for the plans on reopening campuses next week.

"Operationally we're making sure our schools and buildings are welcoming and safe, clear of debris, one of the challenges we have to operate a transportation system," says Segura.