Brazos County Approves $25,000 Emergency Payment to Brazos Valley Food Bank

Brazos County Commissioners on Nov. 6 approved a $25,000 emergency payment to the Brazos Valley Food Bank to help the nonprofit respond to higher demand caused by a federal SNAP delay and recent reductions in federal food allocations.

The county held a special called session at 10:30 a.m. and heard a presentation from Teresa Magna Porta, executive director of the Brazos Valley Food Bank, who described increased pantry visits, lost federal food resources and pressure on donations and purchased food. "I wish I could say we're giving out more food, but we have less food," Magna Porta said, describing a recent drop in government-supplied food and a corresponding rise in client visits.

Why it matters: Commissioners framed the payment as an emergency response to immediate food needs for households in Brazos County, including SNAP recipients and furloughed federal workers who, commissioners said, have gone without pay. The court made the funding decision during a short, targeted session and asked county staff to expedite payment.

What the food bank told the court: Magna Porta said the bank helps about 53,000 unique individuals in Brazos County in a typical year and partners with 73 local entities (including school-based pantries and backpack programs). She told commissioners the bank lost roughly 1,000,000 pounds annually previously supplied by the federal TFAP program and about 400,000 pounds annually from an LFPA grant, increasing the need to purchase food. She also provided an operational figure, saying the food bank distributes about 385,000 pounds of food per month in Brazos County (speaker-provided estimate) and used an illustrative weekly figure of about 185,000 pounds.

Magna Porta noted that the commonly cited per-person figure of $1.40 reflects donated food and does not represent the cost when the bank must buy food. She directed residents seeking help to call 211 (United Way) or visit the food bank website (www.bvfb.org) and said the bank needs volunteers to support increased distribution.

Commissioners' response: Commissioner Brown moved to provide the full $25,000; the motion was seconded (second not named in the transcript). Commissioners expressed unanimous support in the session record. Commissioner Brown said, "I think as a county, there's not a more important thing than we can do right now during this national emergency than support you for the full $25,000." Commissioner Nettles described the stress of furloughs from personal experience and noted local donation options such as Blessing Boxes.

Timing and implementation: Miss Payne, the county budget officer, told the court the goal is to have the payment in the food bank's hands before Thanksgiving.

Votes at a glance: The court voted in favor of the $25,000 allocation; the presiding officer declared, "The ayes have it." Commissioner Watson was absent and did not vote.

Details and caveats: All numerical figures in this article are reported as stated by speakers to the court. Some speaker-provided figures include approximations and internal examples (for instance, monthly and weekly tonnage figures that the presenter gave as illustrative). The transcript contains variant spellings of the food bank director's name; the court identified the presenter as Teresa Magna Porta, executive director, and this article uses that spelling consistently.

Community actions: Commissioners and speakers encouraged volunteerism and community food drives. A county family food drive will be at the Brazos Center on Wednesday, Dec. 3. The court adjourned at 10:46 a.m.