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'We owe it to them': Central Texas non-profit feeding local youth during the summer months

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MCLENNAN COUNTY, Texas (KXXV) — Shepherd’s Heart provided food for close to 100,000 families last year, and this year they’re looking to surpass that — one of their main priorities is making sure children are fed during the summer.

  • In May 2023, Shepherds Heart fed 3,320 children — this past May that number almost doubled, serving more than 6,000 children.
  • Van Tran Transformers manufacturing company is helping Shepherd's Heart feed hundreds of children during the summer by taking home the Hunger Hero Challenge trophy three years in a row.
  • In 2024, Shepherd’s Heart is expected to feed close to or more than 120 thousands families.

BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:

“It can be a stressful thing when you’re little and you know, you’re hungry and you don’t know where your next meal is going to come from,” said Allison Bulkley with Van Tran Transformers.

Thousands of children in McLennan County are in need of meals during the summer.

“In the high schools, we’ve got several hundred children that are actually couch-surfing or homeless,” said Bob Gager wth Shepherd’s Heart.

This is why Van Tran Transformers manufacturing company is helping Shepherds Heart feed hundreds of children during the summer by taking home the Hunger Hero Challenge trophy three years in a row.

“We have a responsibility to make things better for other people,” Bulkley said.

In May 2023, Shepherds Heart fed 3,320 children — this past May that number almost doubled, serving more than 6,000 children.

“Kids that are going through food insecurity, they’re going to have more of a challenge when they get back to school, because they’re not going to remember as much as the kids that have been eating regularly,” Bob Gager said.

Last year, Shepherd’s Heart was able to feed 30,000 kids, and by watching the increasing need in the community, they’re expecting to possibly double that in 2024.

This is why businesses in Central Texas neighborhoods continue to donate food and money.

“Somebody who’s benefiting from the Hunger Hero program right now, could be the next manufacturing supervisor in our factory 15 years from now," Bulkley said.

"We owe it to them to make sure that they are taken care of during the summer months, and even beyond that."

This year, Shepherd’s Heart is expected to feed close to or more than 120,000 families.


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