Food for Families: Lone food pantry in Madison County sees increased demand

MADISON COUNTY, Texas (KBTX) – SonShine Outreach Center is the only food pantry in Madison County, serving around 900 people monthly.

That number is almost double the amount from the start of the year. Lisa Wamsley, the organization’s coordinator, says the rising cost of groceries and other items, coupled with the lack of nearby grocery stores in the rural county, contributed to that increase.

“It’s hard. It’s hard for a lot of people and they have to make hard choices,” Wamsley said.

SonShine Outreach Center is most in need of kid-friendly staples like cereal, pasta, canned chili and Spaghetti-O’s.

According to Wamsley, their goal is to raise 40,000 pounds of food.

“When I say 40,000 pounds, it sounds like a lot. But realistically, it’s what we need to take us through the holidays and start off the new year,” she said.

The food pantry can go through a thousand pounds of food in a morning, she said.

Without certain resources from the Brazos Valley Food Bank, the rural organization could be stretched too thin and potentially run out of food.

Once a month, they’re joined by the Brazos Valley Food Bank’s Mobile Food Pantry, setting up shop at the Madisonville fairgrounds. Half of all monetary donations go to fund the Mobile Food Pantry, an essential service for rural counties.

“Having multiple locations and multiple distributions allows families to kind of have constant access to food throughout the month,” Brazos Valley Food Bank Programs Director Shannon Avila said.

Wamsley said they’ll never turn away someone who’s in need, but in the past they have run out of what she refers to as, ‘necessary food,’ staple items that can help stretch a meal.

“We have no spaghetti, you know or whatever those things are those meal helpers that that help families, you know stretch it through to the next payday,” she said.

KBTX will be collecting donations across seven counties in the Brazos Valley for their 27th annual Food for Families Food Drive.

Both Wamsley and Avila are excited for the impact Food for Families makes across the Brazos Valley.

Wamsley said she can see that effect most clearly through the children they serve.

“A little girl, she came up to me after I was done talking to the mom and she said, “Can I give you a hug?’ and I said, “Sure you can give me a hug!’ She said, ‘oh,’ she said, ‘I’m just so excited we’re gonna have meat on Thanksgiving!” she said.