1,500+ families receive free food thanks to Montgomery County Food Bank, CISD, and H-E-B

THE WOODLANDS, TX – Recently, the annual H-E-B Summer of Sharing event took place at the Woodforest Bank Stadium. More than a thousand cars – each filled with a Montgomery County family totaling up to 5,000 people or more – lined up to receive free hot meals, fresh produce, and packaged food goods in a drive-through event consisting of dozens of volunteers.

The event was conducted in partnership with the H-E-B Hunger Relief Team, Conroe Independent School District and Montgomery County Food Back, where families were identified and screened for qualification based on need by personnel at those organizations.

Kristine Marlowe, president and CEO of the Montgomery County Food Bank, was delighted to see such a turnout. “Today we are so proud to be a part of this amazing distribution. We’re here to help fight hunger in this community. The need in our community is so high right now; last month, we served more than 91,000 client contacts. That’s a too-elevated level. Today we’re here to do our part for families, especially those with children, that need an extra hand,” she said.

When asked about how the community could best help the food bank, she said, “Right now we have several needs, and first of all we need more than 700 volunteers a month, so sign up on our website at www.mcfoodbank.org. Also, our shelves are bare again, so the best way to support that is through monetary donations, because every dollar donated provides up to four meals; we’re very good stewards of the resources that come in. You can host your own food drive – we’ll tell you how – and you can help us by spreading the word.”

Dr. Curtis Null, superintendent of Conroe ISD, was proud of the scope of the event. “It’s a wonderful day to make sure our students and their families have their needs met. To be able to open up the schools’ resources – which are the community’s resources – and have H-E-B come in and have us part of that is really a blessing,” he said. “Our number one resource in this school district is our people, and to see them here and serving the community on a hot weekend day with smiles on their faces, this is what it’s all about.”

Lisa Helfman, managing director of public affairs for H-E-B Houston, was proud of how many people took part in helping out those in need.

“H-E-B does food distribution events like this several times a year; we also do Feast of Sharing during the holidays. In the summer, families can run out of food because the kids are home for the break and not being fed at their schools. Families are struggling, so it’s our honor to come out and give them both food they can use throughout the week as well as hot meals to eat today.”

Surrounded by volunteers in the H-E-B Mobile Kitchen, she continued. “We’re a people business that just happens to sell groceries. We’re really in the business of taking care of people, and taking care of people is our number one job. We feel like it’s one mission to be a part of the community; with 150,000 employees we’re not just helping the community, we are the community. People can help by taking part in our drives that we host in our stores throughout the area.”

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