Jack Moraglia
Audio By Carbonatix
A federal judge in Rhode Island on Oct. 31 ordered the Trump administration to continue funding SNAP benefits. Still, there’s no word yet on when that might happen or whether the administration will appeal. For more on the story, see our update about the program in our news section.
We’ve long celebrated H-E-B’s charitable chutzpah and ingenuity. A couple of years ago, we wrote about a fascinating tale of its then-store president, Scott McClelland, as he BS’ed his way into a disaster area after Hurricane Rita to get fresh food into stores (he rented a black SUV and put a blue light on the top, then handed the checkpoint gaurd a letter he wrote — AND SIGNED — allowing him access to the restricted area).
After Hurricane Harvey, McClelland used helicopters to fly drivers from San Antonio to Houston to move essentials in. They like to brag that they show up before the Red Cross. Or, in this case, show up when others have flat-out failed to.
And remember during Icegeddon, a Central Texas H-E-B lost power? They told everyone to leave with their full baskets (sans booze). It’s take-whatever-you-need hospitality from a grocery store.
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Millions to Food Banks
On Oct. 24, H-E-B donated five million to support Texas food banks and gave one million to Meals on Wheels programs across the state.
The donations come as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits for 42 million Americans are set to expire on Nov. 1 due to the government shutdown.
The five million gift will go to food banks in the Feeding Texas network, which includes the North Texas Food Bank and the Tarrant Area Food Bank, and is part of the Feed America network. According to the Texas Department of Health and Human Services, more than 3.5 million people, including 1.7 million children, rely on SNAP in Texas.
“H-E-B’s generous donation to Texas food banks couldn’t have come at a more critical moment,” said Celia Cole, CEO of Feeding Texas. “Across the state, families are facing mounting challenges, and this support will make an immediate and meaningful difference. We are deeply grateful to H-E-B for standing with our communities and helping ensure that no Texan goes hungry.
H-E-B has donated to Feeding Texas for years and, Cole says, has been “consistently showing up with compassion, resources, and leadership.”
Meals on Wheels Texas’s one million gift will support the more than 100,000 meals the organization delivers to the elderly every day.
Wanna Help?
Sure you do. We all do. First of all, vote. We don’t care for whom (that’s a lie, we do), but just be a voter.
You can also help out at H-E-B by making a donation to its annual Feast of Sharing, a series of festive holiday gatherings that serve over 340,000 meals at 34 dinners throughout Texas and Mexico. Over the past 30 years, H-E-B has served more than five million people at these dinners, with the help of 375,000 volunteers. This year, dinner is on Thursday, Nov. 20, 3 to 7 p.m. at Fair Park.
If you want to help a food bank, it’s better to make a monetary donation; their dollars go MUCH further than ours. For instance, at the North Texas Food Bank, one dollar can provide three nutritious meals. If you drop off a bag of cans, that requires a lot of manpower to move around, sort and distribute. Send them 10 bucks and that’s 30 meals.
