The Story of the Food Bank - Food Bank of West Central Texas

5505 N. 1st St. • Abilene, TX 79603 • inquiries@fbwct.org

Fighting hunger in west central texas

In 1983, under the leadership of Mary Frances Warren with the Texas Department of Public Welfare, Pete Ybarra with the Community Action Program and Betty Bradley with Meals on Wheels, a search for solutions to address hunger in our community began. After visiting food banks in other parts of Texas, the group aimed to create a similar food bank model for the Big Country region.

By January 1984, all organizational functions for the Food Bank of West Central Texas had been accomplished. Space and most of the equipment were donated by individuals and companies. Within the first year, 27 businesses donated 225,000 pounds of food that was distributed to 25 member agencies.

GROWTH OVER THE YEARS

Later the facilities were moved to the present location at 5505 North 1st Street. After three expansions, our current warehouse has approximately 30,000 sq. ft. of storage space. We now partner with more than 150 agencies in thirteen counties covering nearly 13,000 square miles to distribute food.

In 2020, the FBWCT distributed 5.5 million pounds of food, representing an estimated wholesale value to our community of 9.8 million dollars.

We will continue to serve the Big Country through innovative programs that help raise hunger awareness and feed the hungry in West Central Texas.

The Legacy continues

The Food Bank founders had a passion for preventing the waste of food and getting food to people who need it. Founding board members Mr. Sonny Hermann and Mr. John Herod were torch bearers of this passion. Their legacy lives on through an active board of directors, a dedicated staff, remarkable donors and numerous volunteers who support the Food Bank mission and programs to help our neighbors.