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Williamson County adopts Hunger Action Month proclamation, backs semiannual county employee food drives
Summary
Commissioners endorsed a proclamation naming September 2025 Hunger Action Month and approved a semiannual county employee food drive program to support local food pantries; action was unanimous.
Williamson County Commissioners Court proclaimed September 2025 as Hunger Action Month and voted to hold county employee food drives twice a year, with targeted requests coordinated with local pantries.
The court heard from Gary Brown and Kelly Hernandez, who described a semiannual campaign (May and November) that would pair county department donation boxes with partner food pantries. Brown said donations are scarcer in summer months and that employee participation has grown in prior years. Kelly Hernandez, chief of staff to Commissioner Russ Bowles, said prior drives have expanded across the county and that staff will coordinate specific pantry needs so donations match current demand (for example, cereals, breakfast items, diapers and formula).
Beth Corbett, vice president of government affairs for the Central Texas Food Bank, briefed commissioners on the bank's recent community needs assessment and gave county-specific figures: the county's food-insecurity rate is roughly 13.4%, with an estimated 99,000'02,000 residents facing food insecurity (the county's population was cited for scale). Commissioners and staff noted that donations often spike at year-end and that pantries need more help in summer months when school meal programs are unavailable.
Commissioner Cook moved that the county adopt a semiannual drive (May and November) with targeted asks coordinated with pantries; Commissioner Bowles seconded. The court passed the motion 4-0. Later, the court adopted the Hunger Action Month proclamation unanimously. Officials said the county will provide flyers for employees and coordinate pick-up and distribution with local partners including the Caring Place, Round Rock Serving Center and Shepherd's Heart.
The proclamation and new drive aim to boost available shelf-stable breakfast items and other pantry needs; county staff said they will work with pantries to avoid overloading agencies with items they cannot use and to collect items pantries have identified as priorities.
