THE ISSUE
Many of our neighbors are only a medical crisis, car issue, or income cut away from being food insecure, which affects a large portion of our community. 42% of our neighbors who access food resources have faced temporary crises that have led to food insecurity. Across our community, several of the Foundation’s partners have reported client increases of over 40% in 2023. Notably, the Hope Center Food Pantry in rural Comal County witnessed a 60% surge in client numbers from 2022 to 2023. Meanwhile, the Community Resource and Recreation Center contributed over $700,000 worth of food supplies to our community in 2023.
Factors such as under-employment, demographic characteristics, and low household assets all contribute to the increasing number of our neighbors facing food insecurity, now at 22,720 or 13.8%. Additionally, approximately 5,920 of our children are food insecure with 35.75% of Comal County students eligible for free and reduced lunch. With Feeding America projections suggesting that an additional $15.8 million per year would be required to end hunger in Comal County, the McKenna Foundation has recognized and taken action to address the hunger needs in our community.
62% of the food-insecure
population in Comal County are
above SNAP threshold. For a family
of 4, that means earning more
than $4,125 per month
Source: Map the Meal Gap 2022: Food Insecurity and Child Food Insecurity at the County Level, Feeding America, 2022/Texas Health and Human Services
2,890,551
Pounds of food distributed by New Braunfels Food Bank in 2023
127,037
Pounds of food distributed in rural Comal County by Helping Hands Food Pantry in 2023
The Inspiration
The McKenna Foundation believes that no one in our community should have to choose between food and other essentials like rent, medical care, or clothes. This belief inspired the development of the New Braunfels Food Bank, which is committed to ensuring access to food for today, food for tomorrow, and food for a lifetime.
