In November, Helping Center receives $5,000, thousands of pounds of food

CONNIE SWINNEY • STAFF WRITER

MARBLE FALLS — From first-responder agencies and churches to schools and service groups, a request for help prompted a quick response and a huge haul of food and other donations for The Helping Center of Marble Falls, officials say.

The facility, 1315 Broadway St., has experienced an influx in clients and recently turned to the community to refill its shelves, which empty almost as quickly as they are filled.

“I have never lived in a more generous and giving community than I’ve seen here,” said Sam Pearce, the center’s executive director. “I’ve never seen a response like this.”

In October, the facility added 30 new families to its clients’ list, served 477 families or 1,500 people total and expects to serve even more during the next several months.

“If they have the Thanksgiving meal, they’re going to be well-fed, and that’s our main concern,” Pearce said.

That concern translated into action for a number of other entities that have donated non-perishable food items and/or cash since October including H-E-B of Marble Falls; the Marble Falls Police Department and Marble Falls Fire Rescue during National Night Out; the Highland Lakes Good Samaritan Club; the Highland Lakes Service League; Marble Falls Independent School District elementary, middle and high schools as well as the Marble Falls High School Interact Club; the Marble Falls High School theater arts department; the Burnet County Juvenile Probation Department; Boys Scouts Troop 284; the Burnet 4-H Club; Fellowship Baptist Church; St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church; Trinity Episcopal Church; First United Methodist Church of Marble Falls; the Knights of Columbus (Marble Falls and Horseshoe Bay); The Church at Horseshoe Bay; and the Highland Lakes Master Gardener Association.

Thousands of pounds of food began refilling shelves in fewer than 30 days.

In one campaign, the Marble Falls High School theater students on Nov. 8 delivered more than 1,800 pounds of food they collected on Nov. 1 and Nov. 7 at Walmart.

“I knew we had a lot on our plate, so when my (student) officers came to me and said we want to do this, initially, I thought, ‘this is crazy,’” said Jon Clark, the school’s theater department director. “There is so much to do. Then I thought about it and realized how could I say no to this?”

The students organized the project through the International Thespian Society.

“They contacted Walmart. They literally took care of everything,” Clark said.

“It blows me away they have so much energy, and they value something so much that they’re willing to work at it that hard that they represent their school and their community.”

In another effort, the school’s Interact Club collected 600 pounds of food and $450 in cash donations at the gate during a recent Mustangs football game.

“Since November, we’ve had $5,000 in donations,” Pearce said. “I’m always hesitant for asking for money, but it’s usually about 10 or 20 cents on the dollar when I buy food from the food bank.”

On Nov. 12, Pearce ordered 6,724 pounds of food with just $1,000 from the Austin-based Capital Area Food Bank.

To demonstrate how much monetary donations can stretch a dollar even further, the executive director can buy:

• a case of canned pears for $3.84

• 12 boxes of corn flakes cereal for $2.54

• 40 pounds of chicken leg quarters for $5.96

“The food banks are getting food at a discounted price, and they have subsidies from the (U.S.) Department of Agriculture,” said Pearce, who orders from the food bank every two weeks. “You buy as much as you can and keep it. You try to hold onto it and make it last.”

He also shops at the local H-E-B, which donates items such as bread and produce, to fill the gap on the dinner menu for families.

“We haven’t been able to order green beans or corn (from the Austin food bank) for the last three months. At one time, we didn’t see tuna for five months,” he said. “I’ll go spend $2,000 or $3,000 at H-E-B for stuff we can’t get from the food bank because (families) got to have it.”

Pearce said the recent push has made a big difference, but they must remain diligent as the clients list expands about 10 percent each year.

“Unfortunately, I don’t think we’ve ever had a month where the numbers have gone down,” he said.

To donate money to The Helping Center, go to The Picayune and KBEY 103.9 FM Radio Picayune Food Drive’s GoFundMe page or drop by the facility at 1315 Broadway St. in Marble Falls to offer non-perishable food item or cash donations.

connie@thepicayune.com