MCLENNAN COUNTY, Texas — The poverty rate in the Waco area is twice the national average. In 2023, Shepherd's Heart supported 30,419 children by providing them with food through pantries in 5 schools. On June 22, Governor Abbott vetoed a $60 million food assistance bill that could have provided $120 in food benefits per eligible child due to fiscal concerns with the bill.
- Gov. Abbott vetoed a $60 million summer food assistance bill that could have provided eligible Texas families with $120 per child in food benefits
- Local food pantry Shepherd's Heart feeds about 2,800 families monthly in McLennan County through mobile food distributions, with 25% of recipients being children.
- During the school year, the nonprofit feeds 4,200-4,500 kids monthly through their snack program, but summer numbers drop to just 300-400 kids weekly
- Transportation barriers prevent many children from accessing available summer meal programs at schools when families can't drive them
- Bob Gager from Shepherd's Heart warns that inadequate nutrition impairs children's "cognitive skills and ability to grow and become productive citizens"
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
The Summer EBT program would have given eligible families a one-time payment of $120 in food benefits per child; assistance that many people in our community believe would have made a significant difference.
"If we don't take care of our kids now to get them healthy, what kind of future are we going to have?" said Robert Gager, CEO of Shepherd's Heart.
25 News Reporter Dominique Leh spoke with several families at a Shepherd's Heart mobile Food distribution who all shared how extra help with food throughout the week makes a financial difference in their lives, especially during summer months when children are home from school.
"This is really great for families to be able to get this type of help," one parent said
"It assists us and it helps us economically, because everything is expensive," Bellmead parent Victor Parra said.
Parents particularly emphasized the challenges of feeding children during summer break.
"Kids want to eat all day, and right now everything is really expensive," a bellmead mother explained.
Local food pantry Shepherd's Heart feeds around 2,800 families each month through mobile food distribution. Bob Gager told me about 25% of those served are children.
"If they don't have anything to eat or if they're eating junk food, now you're going to impair their cognitive skills and ability to grow and become productive citizens," Gager said.
During the school year, the nonprofit feeds between 4,200-4,500 kids in McLennan County each month through their snack program. During summer, that number drops significantly to 300-400 kids per week.
The dramatic decrease is largely due to transportation barriers.
"It's the transportation. Kids, they're not going to walk from where they live. There are lots of schools that have breakfast and lunch if the family can't drive them there, the kids aren't going to walk," Gager explained.
In his veto statement, Abbott cited uncertainty regarding federal matching rates for the program but indicated he would reconsider funding once there's more fiscal clarity.
For now, families in McLennan County will need to continue relying on local food pantries and other community resources to bridge the summer hunger gap.
"By providing a family with $120 for their children to feed them, that's not really a lot of money per kid per month, but it does make a difference because you can put some healthy food in front of them to eat," Gager said.
For more information on this program, click here.
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