Pandemic’s effects still felt at Marble Falls food pantry as visitor numbers jump

The Helping Center of Marble Falls food pantry services hundreds of Highland Lakes residents every month, and that number has increased six-fold since 2021. According to the nonprofit’s leadership, the drastic uptick in visitors is likely due to lasting impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic and the opening of the center’s new facility in January 2021, which greatly increased its ability to serve the community.

The Helping Center served an average of 300-500 families a month between January 2017 and May 2021. Starting in July 2021, those numbers showed a sharp, steady increase, leading to averages of about 2,500 family visits per month throughout 2024 and rising as high as nearly 3,000 a month by September last year. 

“Food is always going to be an issue,” Sam Pearce, the center’s executive director, told DailyTrib.com. “You wake up every day and you’re hungry.”

Pearce shared data from The Helping Center in 2024, showing the pantry had distributed 1.18 million pounds of food to visitors for the year, spread among an estimated 29,652 total visits from Highland Lakes households. 

According to Pearce, The Helping Center used to see 20 visitors on a good day when he started volunteering 15 years ago, but things have ramped up recently. Just this past Thursday, Feb. 6, 145 families used the food pantry. On Wednesday it was 96 families; Tuesday, 176 families; and Monday, 97.

Pearce, who has been the center’s executive director for the past 10 years, saw a significant increase in food pantry users during and following the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Everything kind of changed around COVID, the paradigm shifted,” he said. “(Helping Center staff and volunteers) have got more and more efficient, and there are more people coming to the area, but the price of food is extremely high.”

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics backs up Pearce’s assessment. The bureau shows a sharp increase in the national average prices of staple groceries between March 2020 and December 2024.

• One dozen eggs—$1.53 March 2020; $4.15 December 2024
• One pound of ground beef—$4.11 March 2020; $5.58 December 2024
• One gallon of whole milk—$3.25 March 2020; $4.10 December 2024
• One pound of bone-in chicken—$1.40 March 2020; $2.06 December 2024
• One pound of white bread—$1.37 March 2020; $1.91 December 2024

Aside from food, fuel costs also rose drastically, from $1.53 for a gallon of unleaded gas in March 2020 to $3.15 in December 2024.

The ability of The Helping Center to assist more people in its new location also had an impact, according to Pearce. The organization has been around since 1987, but it moved to its current home at 1016 Broadway in Marble Falls in January 2021, which also lines up with the sudden rise in users.

The 4,000-square-foot facility has a large storage area, capable of holding 80,000 pounds of food, which is quadruple the capacity of its previous location at 1315 Broadway. The new location functions like a grocery store, with visitors selecting their own items rather than volunteers doing it for them.

To qualify for use of The Helping Center, visitors should show they are at or below 185 percent of the federally established poverty line. For 2024-25, this amounts to $27,861 for an individual, with increasing increments of approximately $9,500 per individual in a household. 

The Helping Center is almost totally reliant on fundraising, donations, volunteers, and grants to function. In 2024, 80 volunteers donated 10,043 service hours and The Helping Center received 854,620 pounds of food in donations.

To learn more about The Helping Center or how to get involved, visit helpingcenter.org.

“Just pray for us and pray for the people we serve,” Pearce said.

dakota@thepicayune.com