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The Houston Food Bank’s loss of refrigeration for produce that resulted in food being tossed also means less produce for its partners such as Katy Christian Ministries. Here’s the Food For Change area which provides healthy-food choices for shoppers sent by their doctor to the KCM food pantry. Produce seen in the photos represents donations from local grocery stores, said Holly Havlick, KCM food pantry director.
lessPhoto: Courtesy Katy Christian Ministries / Courtesy Katy Christian MinistriesThe Houston Food Bank’s loss of refrigeration for produce that resulted in food being tossed also means less produce for its partners such as Katy Christian Ministries. Here’s the Food For Change area which
... more
The Houston Food Bank’s loss of refrigeration for produce that resulted in food being tossed also means less produce for its partners such as Katy Christian Ministries. Here’s the Food For Change area which provides healthy-food choices for shoppers sent by their doctor to the KCM food pantry. Produce seen in the photos represents donations from local grocery stores, said Holly Havlick, KCM food pantry director.
lessThe Houston Food Bank’s loss of refrigeration for produce that resulted in food being tossed also means less produce for its partners such as Katy Christian Ministries. Here’s the Food For Change area which
... moreKaty Christian Ministries has empty space and unfilled needs for clients as a result of the Houston Food Bank losing 1.8 million pounds of food.
“At the Houston Food Bank, we often talk about how many families are one emergency away from needing food assistance,” said Brian Greene, president/CEO of Houston Food Bank. “Last week, we had an unexpected emergency of our own that impacted our service to our community. The ammonia-based refrigeration system that keeps our coolers and freezers operational malfunctioned, causing a leak in our coolers. No contaminated food was distributed, and no one was harmed. Taking the highest level of safety precautions, we discarded all contaminated food, unfortunately resulting in a devastating loss of 62 truckloads of produce, dairy and other perishable items.”
Katy Christian Ministries receives between 400 and 1,000 pounds of produce weekly from the Houston Food Bank, said Holly Havlick, KCM food pantry director. Additionally, the pantry gets 3,000 pounds of milk.
Havlick said KCM missed its first delivery last Thursday and another delivery on Nov. 19. “We have not been told when distribution will resume,” she said.
“The non-perishable portion of the Houston Food Bank warehouse and freezer were not impacted by this incident, and distribution of those items were not and are not interrupted,” said Greene. “Clean-up of the cooler units is still under way and should be completed by end of business Saturday, November 23. We expect for coolers to be fully operational by Monday.”
The loss comes at a bad time, too, because the KCM Community Food Fair at PowerHouse Church is set for Nov. 23. The monthly food fair distributes free up to 15,000 pounds of food — generally fresh produce, said Havlick, and serves 330 households. She said the fair will occur but was unsure what the Houston Food Bank would send.
Food for Change is a niche in the food pantry which offers healthy food choices for clients who have diabetes, said Havlick. “This area now is largely empty. We’re not getting fresh vegetables. It’s heartbreaking that clients made the time and invested in transportation and we’re not able to offer them what they need for their diet,” she said.
Deysi Crespo, KCM executive director, said, “The Houston Food Bank does an amazing job. They’re an amazing nonprofit. We’ve gotten comfortable and taken them for granted. It’s not their job to feed Katy. We’re the service outreach arm for our community. We need to act locally as well. We just can’t wait for the Houston Food Bank to do everything.”
But, the community can help. Havlick said the pantry doesn’t usually ask the community for perishable food but it would appreciate now if people could bring fresh food to the pantry at 5506 First St. in Katy. “We will find a home for it within an hour of it arriving,” she said.
The food pantry each day serves about 111 households of which 11 of those shop in Food for Change, she said. And, this week before the Thanksgiving holiday, the pantry has come closer to 150 households per day, she added.
Another option is for the community to purchase gift cards for local grocery stores that KCM can use to purchase the fresh produce it needs for its clients. According to its website, the pantry is open 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesday and 8:30 a.m.-7 p.m. Thursdays. Except it will be closed next Thursday, which is Thanksgiving. The pantry is closed Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.
The community has been supportive of the 35-year-old pantry. Havlick noted that the pantry is only 100 turkeys away from its goal of 1,200 turkeys for clients this holiday season.
“This incident that happened with the Houston Food Bank is very unfortunate,” continued Crespo. She said she and her team will rally together and find ways to support their client families without skipping a beat.
The Houston Food Bank lists ways that people can provide help: volunteer at houstonfoodbank.org/register, donate money to help the food bank replenish its fresh produce supply and donate nonperishables especially canned vegetables to the Red Barrels in grocery stores.
In addition to fresh produce, the Katy Christian Ministries pantry also is in need of personal care items. “Those bins continue to be empty from one day to the next,” said Crespo.
karen.zurawski@chron.com
