HELPING DURING THE HOLIDAYS: Hays County Food Bank giving to families in need

The Hays County Food Bank will help families in need for the 15th consecutive year with their Holiday Meal Boxes. 

Families will have the opportunity to receive meal boxes filled with traditional foods needed to make a home-cooked Thanksgiving meal that will include a frozen turkey, a few fresh produce items and shelf-stable items like stuffing mix, canned green beans, mashed potatoes, canned pumpkin and more.

To qualify for the program, families must have a household income at or below the 185% of the Federal Poverty Level, participate in a qualifying government assistance program (SNAP, Medicaid, National School Lunch Program, etc.) or have a temporary food emergency. 

Those who qualify can up at turkeys.haysfoodbank.org to reserve their meal box until Nov. 5 with English and Spanish forms provided. If further assistance is needed when signing up online, the food back may be called directly. 

Due to limited supplies, boxes are available to families in need on a first come, first serve basis. The individual that registered for the meal box must be in the vehicle when picking it up. If they cannot be in the vehicle, a proxy must be assigned before picking up the box. For further assistance, contact the food bank. 

The USDA defines a household as residents at an address who share resources such as food and money. Roommates, family members and others who live at the same address but don’t share resources are considered separate households. Each household may only receive one box per household. 

There will be a total of three meal box distributions held on three different dates including: 

• Tuesday, Nov. 16, Bobcat Stadium, San Marcos, 4:30-6:30 p.m.
• Wednesday, Nov. 17, Cypress Creek Church, Wimberley, 5-6 p.m.
• Friday, Nov. 19, ACC Hays Campus, Kyle, 4-6 p.m.

Everyone who signs up for a holiday meal box will receive one at their designated distribution so there is no need to come early. Those picking up can come during the second half and potentially reduce the wait time.

Each meal box costs about $30 to make and donations are still needed to fund the holiday meal boxes. The program is funded by the food bank’s Turkeys Tackling Hunger Campaign and if a donation of $30 is made by Oct. 15, donors will qualify you for a 2021 commemorative shirt. 

Those interested in being a sponsor for the Turkeys Tackling Hunger Campaign may contact Iris Tate at itate@haysfoodbank.org. Individuals looking to volunteer for meal box distributions can contact Andrew Campbell at acampbell@haysfoodbank.org.

The Hays County Food Bank can be reached at 512-392-8300 x225. Phone lines are open Monday-Thursday from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. If a person cannot be reached, leave your name, phone number, and a good time to call back.