Executive director lays out new vision for Hays County Food Bank

Hays County Food Bank, Inc. has requested approximately $1.2 million in American Rescue Plan Funding to address growing food insecurity in Hays County.

The Hays County Commissioners Court heard a presentation regarding HCFB’s request for ARPA funding during its meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 6. HCFB — a 501(c) (3) nonprofit incorporated in 1984 — requested funds to upgrade its existing 2,250 square foot facility to a 15,000 to 30,000 square foot facility on its four-acre property located near The Village of San Marcos, a $4 million, 22,000 square foot facility housing four social service organizations and serving more than 30,000 county residents.

Hays County Food Bank has outgrown its current facility, said HCFB Executive Director Eleanor Owen. Owen, along with Board President Jamie Lee Chase and board member Mae Parrish, represented HCFB’s interest in a $1.2 million sub-recipient grant agreement to fund a feasibility study and the construction of a new facility at Tuesday’s Commissioners Court meeting.

“It’s difficult to serve all of Hays County, and [running] a facility of this size takes a lot of manual labor and a lot of turnaround,” Owen said. “We’re not able to capitalize on maybe a larger donation or lower priced foods and things that we might be able to get from different vendors because we don’t have a loading dock. We’re just not set up to serve the size that our community is.”

The share of Texas households experiencing food insecurity increased from 13% in December 2018 to 22% in June 2021, and HCFB saw an average of 700 households utilizing its services each week in FY2021, according to the ARPA funds proposal packet.

The $1,188,000 Hays County has earmarked in ARPA funds will allow HFCB to hire a consultant, perform a feasibility study, and construct a 15,000 or 30,000 square foot facility to address increased food insecurity in Hays County, according to the same packet.

HCFB’s current 2,250 square foot facility is located at 220 Herndon Street in San Marcos and consists of office and warehouse space, including 160 square feet of cooler and freezer capacity.

“That’s limiting eggs, milk, proteins… all of that that we are not able to provide to those in need that are accessing our resources right now,” Owes said.

She said the HCFB facility can hold “approximately a week’s worth of food,” and that, realistically, 2,000 square feet of cooler and freezer space would be needed to meet community needs.

The capacity issue is compounded by the fact that more Hays County residents are utilizing food bank services.

HCFB is feeding approximately 4,000 households a month, “So that is an increase over even just in the beginning of this year, [when] we were just seeing around 3,000,” Owens said. “So it’s definitely increased, even just in this year, because of the cost of goods and services going up and everything. During the pandemic, we were serving 5,0006,000 households at the highest point.”

Owen said HCFB has worked with Central Texas Food Bank on square footage and population growth in determining community needs for the next several years.

“We’re not looking at just who we’re going to be serving in the next three or four years,” Owen said. “This would be a facility that would serve the community for the next 20 to 30 years. We need to get ahead of it so that then we’re not backpedaling, or we’re not able to serve the community in the way that we should be able to.”

“Where we’re proposing to put the building is near The Village off of Reimer, off of Hunter Road, where our clients would not only have access to food but would have access to other social services,” Owens added. “Because typically, when someone is facing food insecurity, that’s not the only issue or that might not be the only service that they need help with.”

Commissioners heard three other ARPA funds presentations at Tuesday’s meeting. The first presentation comes from Wimberley EMS, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit public charity with a service area of more than 150 square miles of western Hays County. Wimberley EMS requested $242,157 to add another ambulance to its emergency vehicle fleet.

According to the Wimberley EMS Ambulances ARPA SLFRF Project packet, Wimberley EMS currently operates two Advanced Life Support ambulances (24/7), one backup (three total) and 14 full-time paramedics.

Wimberley EMS identified several constraints with its current emergency vehicle fleet, including excess mileage on fleet vehicles by traveling to underserved areas and faster deteriorating equipment due to longer response times.

Another 501(c)(3) nonprofit, Friends of the Pound House, asked for $89,900 to mitigate FPH’s financial hardship from pandemic-related revenue loss. Due to decreased revenue, FPH has had to put on hold repairs to restore the farmstead’s irrigation system, crucial to maintaining its historic grounds, according to the ARPA SLRF Project packet.

FPH raises funds to restore and maintain the Dr. Pound Historical Farmstead, a state landmark and museum about the life and times of Dr. Pound, his family and descendants. Dr. Pound settled present day Dripping Springs back in 1854–1855 and became the first doctor in Hays County.

The last funding request is from the Maxwell Special Utility District, who requested $50,000 for a 200kw generator to meet the requirements of Senate Bill 3, a bill passed following the February 2021 winter storm that left more than 200,000 Texans without operational water systems. SB 3 requires water utilities to develop and implement emergency preparedness plans to keep their services operating during an extended power outage, according to the ARPA SLFRF Maxwell Special Utility District Project packet.

Following the ARPA funds presentations, the commissioners unanimously approved several agenda items this week, including Commissioner Debbie Ingalsbe’s (Pct. 1) appointment to the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO) Transportation Policy Board (TPB).

Ingalsbe will replace Commissioner Mark Jones (Pct. 2), who formerly represented Hays County on the 22-member board that makes decisions on CAMPO policy and how CAMPO funding is allocated.

CAMPO is the regional transportation planning organization for Bastrop, Burnet, Caldwell, Hays, Travis and Williamson Counties, with a commitment to “improving mobility within the six-county region and ensuring the benefits of the transportation system are distributed fairly across all demographics throughout rural, urban, and suburban areas,” according to the CAMPO website.

In other business, the commissioners unanimously approved an Advance Funding Agreement between Hays County and TxDOT relating to the county’s RM 3237 Phase 2 project between RM 12 and RM 150 and a contract for IFB 2023-B01 FM 110 South Grading Project.

The commissioners voted to ratify a $1.5 million contract with Capital Excavation Company for the South Grading Project, representing the last step needed to complete the segment of FM 110 S.

The commissioners also approved a Professional Services Agreement with HDR Architecture, Inc. to develop schematics for accessibility ramps and other improvements to the Hays County Government Center and a threeyear Service Agreement between Hays County and Text My Gov, Inc., in the amount of $15,000 per year for text messaging services allowing the public to communicate with the county clerk’s office.

For the complete meeting and agenda, visit hayscountytx.com/ commissioners-court/ court-video.