Thanks for visiting the Food Insecurity Board website! Council Member Edward Pollard of District J advocated to the mayor and city council for the creation of this concept to address critical issues related to food access in Houston. In December of 2021, city council voted unanimously for its addition to its formal list of boards and commissions.

PURPOSE: The Houston Food Insecurity Board is responsible for advising and making recommendations to the mayor, city council, and department directors to address issues pertaining to food insecurity that exist in the City of Houston.

The subjects to be addressed by the board shall include, but not be limited to:

1. Reviewing and making recommendations regarding how the resources and efforts currently devoted to addressing food insecurity can be best coordinated and implemented, and how those resources and efforts can be most effectively supplemented;
2. Identifying and developing policy suggestions modeled after other municipalities that have shown to decrease food insecurity;
3. Developing public and private partnerships to tackle aspects of food insecurity such as food deserts and food waste;
4. Identifying and developing policy suggestions to help tackle the social determinants of food insecurity, such as programs that help ensure affordable housing or transportation for people facing food insecurity;
5. Identifying federal, state, and local funding opportunities; and
6. Identifying areas in which gathering information through further study would decrease food insecurity in Houston.