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Pearland alum at North Texas Food Bank: volunteers can pack up to 15,000–20,000 meals in a 2½-hour shift as USDA cuts squeeze supplies
Summary
Elizabeth Campo, a 2013 Pearland High School graduate and volunteer specialist at the North Texas Food Bank, told Pearland ISD’s Building Blocks podcast that volunteers often pack 15,000–20,000 meals per 2½-hour shift and that the food bank is feeling pressure from cuts to USDA programs even as local donations help fill gaps.
Elizabeth Campo, a 2013 graduate of Pearland High School and a volunteer specialist at the North Texas Food Bank, told Pearland ISD’s Building Blocks podcast that volunteers can pack “upwards in the, you know, 15 to 20,000 meals” during a typical 2½-hour shift and that the food bank is “having the pressure of some of those cuts” to USDA programs.
Why it matters: Texas ranks high for food insecurity and the greater Houston area — which serves Pearland — is among the nation’s most food-insecure metropolitan areas. Campo described volunteer work, youth programs and how the bank budgets to remain operational amid changing federal support, underscoring the role of local volunteers and donations in keeping food distribution running.
Campo said her role includes recruiting and orienting volunteers, checking them in, registering them for shifts and sharing the impact of their work after shifts. “At the end of every volunteer shift ... we tell them how many pounds of food they packed and how many meals that provides to our neighbors,” she said. She added that, depending on the shift, volunteers can pack the equivalent of “upwards in the, you know, 15 to 20,000 meals” in roughly 2½ hours.
Campo said the North Texas Food Bank budgets conservatively and does not rely on federal funding as its baseline, calling federal assistance “a bonus.” She told the podcast that some USDA programs have seen cuts that have reduced supply, but she credited a “very generous North Texas community” with helping the bank continue to serve neighbors in need.
The podcast also highlighted the food bank’s volunteer-engagement programs: a summer kids camp for ages 8 to 11, a high-school program and school field trips for students as young as seventh grade. Campo described the field trips as including a poverty simulation, an operations tour and hands-on packing, after which students are asked what they learned and what they will carry forward. She urged listeners that “you’re never too young to be involved,” and used the example of a child donor named Ezra who has donated birthday money to the food bank for multiple years.
Pearland ISD Superintendent Berger, host of the Building Blocks podcast, introduced Campo as an alum and praised her work connecting volunteers to service. Berger closed the episode with a call to action paraphrased on the program: “You can be a roadblock or a building block.”
What the podcast did not specify: the food bank did not provide detailed budget figures or precise projections for future shortfalls; exact dollar amounts for the cuts to USDA programs were not given on the recording. Campo’s packing figures were presented as typical-shift estimates rather than audited totals.
How to help: on the episode, Campo advised listeners to contact their local food bank to volunteer or donate; she noted that Pearland is served by the Houston Area Food Bank for local distribution, while she works at the North Texas Food Bank in the Dallas area.
