AUSTIN, Texas — With many people out of work, food banks across Central Texas are seeing a huge increase in people needing help. And thanks to generous KVUE viewers who donated to the All Together ATX campaign, some of them are getting a boost.
The Bastrop County Emergency Food Pantry and Central Texas Food Bank both received funds to help feed their communities.
"We're going to be able to soothe and calm that concern about, 'Is there going to be enough food?' because so many other people are needing food. We're going to be able to continue to do the work that our volunteers and our staff are passionate about doing," said Tresha Silva with the Bastrop County Emergency Food Pantry.
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These two organizations are among the nearly 100 groups receiving funds from the All Together ATX campaign, which has raised more than $5 million for Central Texans struggling because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"There's so many great organizations doing so much work, and the food bank is going to be doing a huge portion of that every single day out in the community," said Mark Jackson, the chief development officer for the Central Texas Food Bank. "I can't begin to express our gratitude and let the community know that they're going to go a really long way and make sure that people are getting what they need."
The Austin Community Foundation and United Way for Greater Austin put together the fund. The first wave of money will be released on May 1 and applications for the second wave will be due in July.
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