HOUSTON — Tens of thousands of Houston children will go to bed hungry tonight as their parents struggle with putting meals on the table.
The City of Houston is working to help the more than 700,000 Houstonians dealing with food insecurity. Mayor Sylvester Turner, and City Councilman Edward Pollard have launched the city’s Food Insecurity Board.
The committee met for the first time Wednesday. Local non-profits say it comes at a time where the need is greater than ever.
“We see kids that are waiting on the curb for our vans to come every day. They are that hungry,” said Beth Harp, CEO of Kids Meals Inc.
The agency delivers healthy meals to the doorstep of some of Houston’s most vulnerable families.
"Kids Meals serves 44 ZIP codes every day and we’re serving at least on average of 6,000 children a day,” Harp said.
She says the resource has become a life-line for several families.
"The epidemic of food insecurity and access to healthy food is at its highest here in Harris County," Harp said.
The committee is focused on finding solutions for families in need.
“Food insecurity has existed in our city for a long time,” said Mayor Sylvester Turner at Wednesday’s meeting.
Mayor Turner says that includes that nearly 500,000 Houstonians living in areas with little to no access to healthy food.
“Literally there are neighborhoods throughout our city where there are food deserts and people are doing the best they can in order to meet their nutritional needs but it is very, very hard," Turner said.
Harp says the need is growing. She says rising food and gas prices have put several families in compromised positions.
"They are choosing every day, do I keep the electricity on? Do I put gas in my car? Do I pay these bills? Or do I buy healthy food?"
The committee is focused on finding solutions for families in need.
Harps says their efforts are helping to fill in the gaps.
“It just says to those kids we see you, somebody knows your struggling and we're here to help."