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Support needed to match $650K challenge grant, rising demand
BASTROP — The county’s champion in the battle against food insecurity marked a major step forward in meeting the area’s growing demand last week.
Bastrop County Emergency Food Pantry broke ground Feb. 14 on a new 9,200-square-foot Nutrition and Education Center. The facility at 1201 Pine Street will feature a state-of-the-art grocery store layout, allowing neighbors to “shop” for their own items, along with multiple intake rooms to streamline food assistance services, according to Executive Director Tresha Silva.
“This campaign represents a crucial investment in the health and well-being of our entire community,” Silva said. “By raising these funds, we will not only meet the growing demand for food and services, but we will also create a space that empowers our neighbors with the resources they need to thrive.”
With hunger levels high and the Pantry serving 70% more families than it did in 2020, the new center will help double the Pantry’s inventory capacity to one million pounds of food, according to Silva.
W.E. O’Neil Construction is employed as general contractor for the two-story project.
The groundbreaking is part of the Pantry’s Good Neighbor’s Campaign, which has already secured a $650,000 challenge grant from the Mabee Foundation — contingent on raising an additional $950,000 by July. The Pantry has reached 48% of that goal and is seeking community support to close the remaining gap.
Local donors and volunteers have been critical to the Pantry’s efforts to ensure that no neighbor goes hungry, Silva added, and each gift to the campaign will be matched dollar- for-dollar by the Mabee Foundation challenge.
To contribute or learn more about the project, visit BastropFoodPantry.org.
