WICHITA FALLS (KFDX/KJTL) — September is Hunger Action Month and we have teamed up with the Wichita Falls Area Food Bank to highlight how Texoma is tackling hunger.
“Feeding America predicts that the effects of this pandemic are going to last for at least ten years,” Wichita Falls Area Food Bank CEO Kara Nickens said.
Wichita Falls Area Food Bank CEO Kara Nickens says that’s part of what drives the work she does every day.
The Food Bank has been serving this community since 1982 and so much has changed over the years.
“Some volunteers started the Food Bank off-site in 1981 and they moved to a building here in 1982 but it was really just two small offices in a room with a sink and they actually sorted the food out in the parking lot,” Nickens said.
Michelle Oates, the administrative director for the food bank says she’s thankful for the changes the food bank has been able to make over the years.
“Some of the changes is what we do in the food recovery center that we have now we actually did outside, so if it was raining and everything it was kind of hard to get some of that food sorted and broke into different categories for our agencies,” Oates said.
Nickens who joined the WFAFB team back in 2017 sees the team grow more and more each day.
“We’ve had three expansions the first expansion is where they added to where our first cooler and freezer are and then we added another space that included a receiving room and then the warehouse that we have today so it’s gone through three major expansions the last one in 2010,” Nickens said.
As they and the list of those they serve continue to grow both say that soon it’ll be time for a new addition
“We’re constantly having to have food come in and I will tell you that with us being one of the smaller food banks it’s harder to take a truckload of something when you don’t have the warehouse space,” Oates said.
“We are completely out of room, we’re busting at the seams but don’t take that to mean that we have too much food it’s going out as fast as it’s going in and we need to be able to maintain that,” said Nickens.
Whether a new facility comes now or later, Nickens says they’ll continue to serve those in need in our community.
If you’re interested in donating to the food bank whether it’s your time food or money do so by clicking here.