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Fish and Loaves tells council it distributed 3.5M pounds of food in 2025, served 36,000 Taylor residents
Summary
Fish and Loaves Community Food Pantry told the City of Taylor council it distributed 3,500,000 pounds of food across its service area in 2025 and provided more than 1,000,000 pounds directly to Taylor residents; the pantry said it relies heavily on volunteers and spends roughly $250,000 annually on food purchases.
Stephanie McNeese, executive director of Fish and Loaves Community Food Pantry, told the City of Taylor council that the pantry distributed 3,500,000 pounds of food in 2025 and served roughly 90,000 individuals across its service area.
McNeese said the pantry’s client-choice model and Saturday fresh market are the organization’s two largest programs and that, among the 45,000 households served systemwide, more than 18,000 households and over 36,000 individuals live in Taylor. “We distributed over 1,000,000 pounds of food to the city of Taylor and to its residents,” McNeese said during the presentation. She said the nonprofit spends about $250,000 a year on food and relies almost entirely on volunteers; McNeese identified herself as the only full-time employee at the pantry.
The presentation included an overview of volunteer opportunities, donation options and drop-off locations; McNeese encouraged residents and businesses to host food drives, donate money or volunteer. Councilmembers thanked the pantry and praised the dignity-focused, client-choice approach. Councilman Thomas and others noted that the pantry’s photos and materials in the packet were prepared with council assistance.
The council voted to "receive and file" the presentation. No funding request or formal policy change was proposed during the meeting; the presentation was informational and intended to increase public awareness and volunteer recruitment.
