The Texas Army National Guard lent a helping hand to a local food bank attempting to meet the increasing demand for food and supplies during the COVID-19 outbreak.
Approximately 30 members of the National Guard assisted the Food Bank of the Rio Grande Valley in Pharr with the preparation and distribution of food bags.
Stuart Haniff, the food bank’s CEO, told The Brownsville Herald that his organization suspended volunteering opportunities to the public and was “left extremely short-handed.”
The food bank holds two distribution sessions a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9-11 a.m. Thursdays are limited to seniors 60 or older.
According to Haniff, the demand has jumped 143% in recent weeks. Usually 140 families are served by the food bank, but the pandemic increased the figure to 1,700.
Haniff said the National Guard gives the food bank much-needed support.
As of April 21, Texas reported 20,196 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, including 517 deaths. Hidalgo County has 268 confirmed cases of COVID-19.
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