ODESSA, Texas — With the time of year changing and summer quickly approaching, the West Texas Food Bank is preparing for a busy season.
"Right now, hunger, of course, we're seeing a huge need," said Libby Stephens, chief executive officer of West Texas Food Bank.
Summer is right around the corner and the food bank is prepared to kick it into overdrive.
"We are all talking about we think it's going to be a hot summer," Stephens said. "We're going to have high fuel costs, we're going to have high grocery commodity cost, so any donation right now really helps out the West Texas Food Bank."
The food bank's busiest season happens once kids leave the classroom for the school year.
"Any little thing we can get helps because we actually have our highest need in hunger during the summer months when our kiddos are out of school and they don't receive reduced and free lunch," Stephens said. "So our actually numbers really go high in the summer."
Even before then, the number of hungry families is reaching a record high, which is what the food bank saw Wednesday morning.
"Every Wednesday at the Odessa campus for the West Texas Food Bank, we do a drive through distribution," Stephens said. "Sadly, today we probably one of the longest lines we've seen actually since COVID and there's probably close to over 600 cars that are sitting out there that are waiting for emergency food boxes and fresh produce."
Thanks to Permian Basin partnerships, the food bank continues to show West Texans what it means to give back.
"United always does amazing jobs as a great corporate partner to be able to support our work here at the West Texas Food Bank," Stephens said. "Today they brought in three pallets of apples that they worked with our community and to help raise out of our community to bring to the West TX Food Bank to help feed people right here in our community who are hungry."
United Supermarkets and Market Street donated 50,000 pounds of apples to the food bank, which will be distributed throughout all 19 counties across West Texas.
"The need is so great that they need all the help they can get and you know, we [are] just honored to do whatever we can," said Kris Phillips, Market Street store director.