New Cottonwood Shores pantry addresses food insecurity, opens in May
Cottonwood Shores volunteers are organizing a food drive Saturday, April 10, to stock the community’s new food pantry scheduled to begin operations in May. Staff photo by Jennifer Fierro
Cottonwood Shores volunteers are organizing a food drive to help stock the community’s new food pantry.
The drive is 8 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, April 10, at the city’s civic center, 4111 Cottonwood Drive. Nonperishable food and monetary donations will be accepted.
Starting May 5, the food pantry will be open the second Wednesday of each month from 4-7 p.m. at the civic center. People do not have to be Cottonwood Shores residents.
“We’re not going to turn anybody away,” said Mayor Pro Tem Cheri Trinidad, who helped organize the pantry. “We’re not going to turn anybody away because there’s no reason.”
She and Cottonwood Shores Police Chief Johnny Liendo are among those volunteering to get the food pantry up and running.
Trinidad is part of the Burnet County Hunger Alliance, an organization that is working to end hunger in the county through a coordinated effort among food pantries, schools, churches, local officials, concerned residents, and other organizations.
Liendo knows just how food insecurity impacts many residents. He helped deliver meals during the COVID-19 pandemic and the February winter storm with the Highland Lakes Crisis Network .
One of the things officials have noted was the gap in food pantries open in the evening, a time when many people are on their way home from work.
Trinidad said the addition of the Cottonwood Shores program, especially open 4-7 p.m. once a week, helps fill that gap and ensure residents have a place to pick up food after school or work.
For more information on the food pantry, contact the Cottonwood Shores Police Department at 830-693-1410.