East Texas Food Bank

4,919,210 people struggle with hunger in Texas. Locally, 1 in 6 East Texans, including 1 in 4 children, are facing hunger— and we find this unacceptable. The East Texas Food Bank advocates to protect and defend policies that seek to close the hunger gap at the federal, state and local levels. For a real and lasting impact in the fight against hunger, we need your voice to make ending hunger a priority. Working hand in hand with community leaders and policymakers, we can solve this problem.

How to be an advocate

When creating or changing policy, our elected officials must make tough decisions that may impact our ability to help close the hunger gap in East Texas. Faced with decisions that can impact millions of people, they are counting on hunger-fighters to help provide them with accurate and timely information. That’s where we need your help.

We know that when people contact their lawmakers, they listen. Help us make meaningful, sustainable progress toward a hunger-free Texas by advocating for your neighbors experiencing hunger. Here are resources on how to find and contact your representatives:

• Find Your Representatives and Legislatures
• Tips for Effective Calls
• Tips for Effective Meetings

2025 Legislative Session Priorities

1. Eliminate the backlog of SNAP applications and increase efficiencies by streamlining SNAP six-month eligibility checks with periodic reporting. Periodic reporting is a proven tool to reduce workload, save on administrative costs and enhance program integrity. Georgia recently implemented periodic reporting and saw a 25% reduction in workload for their eligibility staff. Applied to Texas’ eligibility workforce, this change could save over $33 million in state funds per year.

2. Fight child hunger during the summer by implementing Summer EBT. Nearly 1 in 4 Texas children experience hunger, which spikes in the summer because millions of children lose access to school meals. Summer EBT is a new program that would provide low-income families with children $120 in food benefits during the summer.

3. Improve health outcomes and reduce state healthcare costs by developing a streamlined Medicaid reimbursement model that integrates food bank services into our healthcare system and enables doctors to prescribe healthy food.

4. Modernize the eligibility system by adequately funding the Texas Health and Human Service Commission’s Legislative Appropriations Request (LAR) Exceptional Item #2 to fix problems with TIERS. System errors and glitches within TIERS, the system that enrolls Texans in SNAP, Medicaid, and TANF, have led to application processing delays and wrongful denials.

Feeding Texas is working with partner organizations across the state who are experts on the following issues. Texas lawmakers can help address the root causes of hunger by supporting legislation to:

1. Strengthen Our Local Food Systems: Local food systems can help reduce food insecurity and increase resilience by reducing food waste, supporting local economies, improving food quality and making fresh, nutritious food more accessible to everyone.

2. Increase Healthcare Access: Hunger and health are deeply connected. Individuals facing food insecurity are more likely to experience adverse health effects and face barriers to accessing necessary health services.

3. Ensure Housing Affordability: Strengthening access to affordable, quality housing allows Texan to allocate more of their household budgets to other essential needs like food.

4. Improve Financial Security: As food prices continue to rise, financial security and economic stability are essential to ensure Texas households can meet their nutrition needs, thrive in the workforce, and save for the future.

Advocacy Contact

Rebecca Berkley
Communications & Marketing Director
903.617.2008