AUSTIN, Texas -- More than 250,000 people in Travis County live at or below the poverty line. That means a single person earns roughly $1,000 monthly, $2,000 for families.
- Group starts food pantry
- Set up shop at the South Austin Community Church
- More than 250,000 in Travis Co. live at or below the poverty line
“I get $20 on my food stamps so it’s a lot of things for when they come to my house and I’ll have things there but this is great. This is so good,” says 53-year-old Michelle Williams.
Williams helps provide for her family, with four children ranging from ages four to 13.
“And next week it’ll be another one so that’ll be 5. Yeah it’s a struggle,” she adds.
For families with modest income, making ends meet is difficult.
“What we’re seeing is that a lot of families that are working, don’t have enough to eat,” says Rose Smith of Black Women in Business.
The group pulled resources together from across the city and set up shop at the South Austin Community Church. Think of it as a makeshift food pantry.
“It’s things like cereal, snacks for the kids, granola bars—they’re healthy, they gave me noodles, some mac and cheese,” says Williams of her gifts.
While the help goes a long way, for Williams it's a drop in the bucket, but she says a drop is better than nothing.
“You’re looking at two days [worth of food],” she said.