The History of Food For Families, the largest one-day food drive in Texas
WACO, Texas (KWTX) - 2023 marks the 34th year of Food For Families in Central Texas. The rapidly increasing number of “new poor” appearing at area food banks and the plea from those food pantries for help prompted News 10 to initiate Food For Families in November 1990.
Designed to stock the shelves of area food pantries beyond the holiday season, Food For Families gathered 84,435 pounds of food the first year.
Learn where you can drop off donations this year.
In several counties, no food pantry existed prior to Food For Families. Caritas in Waco and the Food Center in Killeen helped establish food pantries in the counties where none existed.
The project began as a 7-county drive with the Waco Board of Realtors joining News 10 as a partner the first year. H.E.B. Food Stores became the third partner in 1991.
In 1995, the Waco Association of Realtors left the project to pursue other efforts and the Heart ‘O Texas Council, Boy Scouts of America became the third partner of Food For Families.
PHOTO GALLERY: FOOD FOR FAMILIES 2022
Texas Army National Guardsmen had been volunteering for Food For Families for several years but complicated federal legislation limited their participation. In late 1998, the Secretary of the Army granted special permission for the Texas Army National Guard to become our fourth partner. In 2016, the changing world picture and federal rules limited Guard participation. In the summer of 2017, the Texas Army National Guard was forced to focus their efforts on military duties and dropped out of Food For Families.
Volunteers from the Waco Scottish Rite helped Scouts feed the soldiers and other volunteers at the KWTX site and helped in numerous other roles throughout Food For Families.
Television news reporters and anchors broadcast from every televised site. Volunteers from the Boy Scouts and H.E.B. Grocery Company are joined by other community service organization volunteers to help at the collection sites. The food collected in each county remains in that county for distribution by local nonprofit organizations.
Food For Families has grown to become the largest one-day food drive in Texas encompassing 9-counties with 18 televised sites in Central Texas. In 2022, Food For Families gathered 3,149,289 pounds of food. In its 33-year history, Food For Families has gathered 38,777,629 pounds of food.
Food For Families is an annual event sponsored by the Boy Scouts of America, H.E.B. Grocery Company and KWTX News 10.
The Food For Families partners provide an umbrella of promotion and support for dozens of food pantries throughout Central Texas.
WATCH: Rusty Garrett returns to television to help during Food for Families 2023
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