The West Texas Food Bank is the largest collaborative non-profit, non-governmental, hunger relief organization in the Permian Basin, serving 19 counties as a distribution center to solicit, store, inspect, and repack donated and purchased food for local partner agencies.  

West Texas Food Bank was founded in 1985 by a group of concerned citizens who wanted to address the critical issue of hunger in West Texas.  Within the first year, the food bank distributed more than 200,000 pounds of food to 40 partner agencies.  Today, West Texas Food Bank provides 11 million pounds of food in collaboration with more than 100 partner agencies to neighbors in need.  These partner agencies vary in size and purpose, from women’s shelters and local Boys & Girls Clubs of America to senior citizen centers and rural church pantries.  

“The West Texas Food Bank service area encompasses more than 48,000 food insecure individuals,” said Andrea Goodson, Atmos Energy manager of public affairs.  “Seventy-four percent of their clients have incomes below the federal poverty level, 40 percent are children under the age of 18, and 16 percent are elderly.” 

In addition to pantry items, fresh produce, and essential non-food grocery items, the West Texas Food Bank also offers Hunger-Relief programs for seniors, Summer Food Service programs, Nutrition Education and Gardening programs, and Food 2 Kids programs which include: 

• Food 2 Babies Formula: Provides supplemental foods, health care referrals, and nutrition education to low income pregnant and postpartum women, and infants and children up to age 5 who are at risk of malnutrition.  

• Backpack Programs: Students identified by school staff as exhibiting signs of hunger are provided a sack of four ready-to-eat meals each Friday to take home for the weekend. 

• School Pantries: Supplies nutritious food to school pantries on or near campus.  Students and families who meet the income guidelines can visit the pantry and receive food on a regular basis. 

• Kids Café: Offers after-school nutritious meals for students on free or reduced-price lunch programs. 

• Summer Food Service: Sites that provide lunch five days a week during summer at multiple locations throughout the West Texas Food Bank service area. 

After Hurricane Harvey in May 2018, the West Texas Food Bank launched a Disaster Response Mobile Pantry to distribute food to rural and under-served areas. The mobile pantry is completely self-sustained, powered by generators and connected to the outside world via Hyman-Almy-Murray (H.A.M.) radio, which is especially useful when cell phone coverage is unavailable. Furthermore, the mobile pantry can serve approximately 200 families when fully stocked. 

Atmos Energy first partnered with West Texas Food Bank in 2019 to support Food 2 Kids programs, with employees volunteering their time to help package and organize nutritious meals for students for after school and weekends. To enhance West Texas Food Bank’s Hunger-Relief programs, Atmos Energy has also contributed more than $15,000 since 2020 which has provided 45,641 meals to children and families in need.  

“We are so thankful for Atmos Energy’s focus on fueling bright minds and healthy futures for our children,” said Libby Campbell, West Texas Food Bank CEO. “Their commitment to bettering the communities we both serve makes our partnership strong, and we look forward to many more years fighting hunger together.” 

Please visit wtxfoodbank.org to help eradicate hunger.