Every September, communities across the country pause to recognize Hunger Action Month — a time to raise awareness, rally support, and take real action against food insecurity. It’s a fitting moment to look closely at the data, tell the truth about what’s happening in our own backyard, and talk about what each of us can do about it.
First, a Distinction Worth Understanding
Before we get to the numbers, it helps to understand two terms that often get used interchangeably but mean different things.
Food insecurity is an economic and social condition — a lack of consistent access to enough food for an active, healthy life. It’s about resources, logistics, and circumstances.
Hunger, on the other hand, is a physical sensation: the discomfort or pain that comes from a prolonged lack of food.
Here’s the important part — not everyone who is food insecure experiences hunger. A family might be skipping quality meals, rationing groceries, or relying on cheap, filling food to stretch a budget, all without ever feeling the acute physical symptoms we associate with “hunger.” But hunger is a very real potential outcome of food insecurity, and it’s often the tip of a much larger iceberg. When we talk about food insecurity, we’re talking about the everyday, often invisible struggle to keep a household fed — one that affects far more of our neighbors than most people realize.
The State of Food Insecurity in Texas
The numbers from Feeding Texas’ most recent research are sobering:
- Texas has the highest food insecure population in the nation, with over 6 million Texans facing food insecurity.
- The statewide food insecurity rate has climbed from 17.6% to 19.4% since last year’s report.
- Today, 1 in 5 Texas households is food insecure.
That’s not an abstract statistic. That’s one in five families deciding between groceries and rent, one in five households wondering how far this week’s paycheck will stretch.
Closer to Home: Williamson County
In 2024, the Central Texas Food Bank took a close look at food access right here in Williamson County. What they found:
- Almost 83,000 residents — 13.4% of the county — were experiencing food insecurity.
- Of those, more than 21,000 were children.
- Almost 12,000 were older adults.
And it’s safe to assume these numbers have only shifted since then — rising costs and economic pressure don’t pause for a report to catch up.
What This Looks Like in Action
Numbers on a page are one thing. Neighbors walking through doors of our partner pantries are another. Here’s what that need has looked like in practice:
- The Caring Place Food Pantry assisted 52,118 neighbors across 17,740 pantry visits.
- The Fresh Food for Families Program distributed 72,576 pounds of fresh produce to 7,397 families.
- HOPE supported 1,208 elder adults with 55,335 pounds of supplemental food.
And the need hasn’t slowed down. In a recent conversation, the Executive Director of the Caring Place shared that in 2026, the pantry is now averaging 100 unique visitors every day it’s open, each receiving about 85 pounds of food per visit. (Because the need is so widespread, visitors are limited to one visit per month, so that resources can reach as many households as possible.)
Behind every one of those numbers is a person — a parent packing school lunches, a senior on a fixed income, a family trying to make ends meet in a county where the cost of living keeps climbing.
What Hunger Action Month Is Really About
Hunger Action Month isn’t about pity — it’s about action. It’s a reminder that food insecurity isn’t someone else’s problem happening somewhere else. It’s happening in Williamson County, in our neighborhoods, among people we see every day without knowing what they’re carrying.
This September, we’re asking our community to:
- Learn the difference between food insecurity and hunger, and recognize how widespread the former really is.
- Talk about it — hunger thrives in silence and shame; awareness breaks that cycle.
- Give — whether that’s a financial donation, or your time as a neighborhood coordinator, food donor, or pick-up day volunteer.
- Advocate for policies and programs that address the root causes of food insecurity, not just its symptoms.
Every pound of food distributed, every visit made possible, and every conversation that reduces stigma moves us closer to communities where no one has to choose between food and other basic needs.
Ready to help? Donate to GNFP to keep the work going, donate to one of our partner pantries, or find a food-focused volunteer opportunity that will allow you to be part of the solution this Hunger Action Month.
Partner Pantries: Helping Hands of Georgetown, SU’s Pirate Pantry, Jubilee Mobile Food Pantry, Carver Center for Families, Stonehaven Resident Council Pantry, Neighbors Serving Neighbors, and The Caring Place.
Sources: Feeding Texas research report; Central Texas Food Bank, Williamson County food access study (2024); Caring Place Food Pantry program data.