TYLER, Texas — The East Texas Food Bank is working hard to provide meals to those who need them amid the coronavirus.
"Right now it's a godsend to a lot of families," Dennis Cullinane, CEO of East Texas Food Bank, said. "We got a good variety of items that are in here they are all shelf stable items we got some oatmeal, lentils and whole grain pasta."
Cullinane says prior to the pandemic the organization was feeding 80,000 people a month. He believes now with more people off of work and at home that number is rising.
"That's why it's so important for us to get this product out and it's a real easy qualification system, not a lot of paperwork if any, and not a lot of questions," Cullinane said. "If you're hungry come see one of our partners or see one of our distributions."
According to the Food Bank, they have received clarity from the Texas Governor's Office on the guidelines from President Trump and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on the ability to remain open as a critical infrastructure industry.
"It's been challenging for us to keep enough volunteer workers for us here in order to keep these boxes moving which is really vital for us right now," Cullinane said.
The organization is also starting to see a shortage of food items like peanut butter and and canned proteins.
"We're staring to see some interruptions in our supply chains cancellations and postponements of some deliveries that we already had in the pipeline and that's a little concerning for us too," Cullinane said.
The Food Bank is working alongside Tyler ISD in distributing emergency food boxes at various campuses.
They have also opened a new emergency food distribution location in North Lufkin.
"We joined forces to use that facility to distribute these boxes and we're looking distributing more than 1,000 boxes go give out to folks out there in north Lufkin," Cullinane said.
Follow this link for more information on food assistance, food distribution locations and how to receive SNAP benefits.
