Houston Foodbank, Cargil, Feeding America partner to deliver more protein for the community

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HOUSTON, TX — Recent partnership of Houston Foodbank with Cargill, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Feeding America offers a solution to solve the balanced diet problem occurring in the community.

Some people are struggling to provide nutritious food since they have a limited budget in accessing the resource. Food banks serve as a critical resource for people facing difficulties in delivering healthy meals.

However, food banks find it challenging to afford the high costs and short shelf life of high-quality proteins – particularly meats. As a result, many families seek food banks as an option for providing nourishing meals.

Last year, Feeding America nationwide received 688 million pounds of protein. The amount is below the 4.8 billion pounds needed to meet the federally suggested dietary requirement. Meanwhile, 15 billion pounds of meat, poultry, and seafood go to landfills annually as food waste.

Kedrick Thorn, associate director of facilities and food safety for the Houston Food Bank, recognized the opportunity to redirect protein food waste to benefit the community.

Thorn approached Feeding America and Cargill about helping to provide more protein to the community suffered from hunger and malnourishment in Houston.

Cargill invested in a USDA clean room, a food processing space inspected and monitored by the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service, enabling the receipt of bulk format cartons of protein. In the cleanroom, the food banks can convert the protein to retail-sized portions.

This investment would be beneficial, especially to the community that suffers from hunger and food insecurities. They no longer have to worry about splitting the bill, deciding whether the paying goes on groceries or others necessities.

“Our community is very grateful,” Thorn commented. “Working in the pandemic and seeing all the long lines and all the families in need of protein, it is a testament to our partners and the team that made it possible.”

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