City of Houston Food Insecurity Board

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.

ABOUT THE BOARD

Who Serves on the Board

The Board is comprised of 19 appointed Directors, including the Chair.

• Members shall be broadly representative of the various sectors affected by, and/or working towards, a solution for food insecurity in Houston, such as the healthcare, agriculture, education, business, and nonprofit sectors.

How Does the Board Function?

• The Houston Food Insecurity Board meets virtually or in-person, every other month, with committees meeting more frequently. The committees are Public Policy, External Relations, and Communications and Outreach.
• The board also will have an active advisory council composed of 20 organizations and individuals who will servic as a resource to the board and help to inform the public, attract resources, and make recommendations to reduce disparity.
• The board will advise and produce recommendations annually to the mayor and city council to address disparities, as well as identify gaps in information that need further study. It will also provide feedback regarding prospective policy to the mayor and city council and will generate policy proposals bringing attention to the mayor and city council issues impacting the food insecure in Houston. Board members will also publicize city-led opportunities and programs benefiting the food insecure in their communities.

100 FOOD PANTRIES

Hosting a food pantry at your community organization is a terrific way of giving back to your community and surrounding neighborhood. Through such an easy and kind gesture, your organization can benefit and enrich the lives of so many.

If you're interested in learning more about what it takes to become a food pantry in Houston, please fill out our form, and we'll get in touch with you within seven business days. We can talk about the program itself and what it takes to partner with the City of Houston, Whirlpool, and the Houston Health Department to start your own food pantry before the end of the year.

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