Resilient Communities - Trinity Houston Gardens

3,000 community residents served by expanded pantry services

Houston, USA.

Expanded services at the St. Peter Claver food pantry and mobile community events are improving food access and supporting families to break the cycle of poverty.

Food pantry operation days increased by four (4) per month.

Target Hunger’s food pantry model allows community members to choose their own food, just like at the grocery store, at no cost.

Target Hunger distributes nutritious, fresh foods in addition to dry and canned goods.

To build a picture of each community, the Resilience for Communities (R4C) program used risk mapping, open-data sources, expert interviews, community surveys and focus groups. This assessment used the Climate Resilience Measurement for Communities (CRMC) tool to assess community resilience to extreme heat and flooding - helping to identify priorities and design solutions.

Sources of resilience — Enhanced food security strengthens the community’s financial, human and social capital.

Financial

Human

Social

Access to fresh, healthy foods at no cost is a lifeline to families that are struggling with rising costs of housing, healthcare and groceries.

Community members are aware of risks their community faces, but are more concerned about meeting their daily needs like accessing healthy, nutritious foods.

Impact multipliers — Resilience solutions have a different mix of impact multipliers and impact multiple systems, businesses and societies. Together, multipliers produce anamplified impact.

Improved public health

Access to fresh foods can help reduce and treat chronic health issues like high cholesterol, diabetes and obesity.

Improved financial stability

Nutritious food like fresh fruits and vegetables can be expensive, and access to fresh food at no cost improves families’ ability to save and achieve their goals.

Increased community cohesion

Improving food access helps residents prepare for and avoid hunger during extreme heat and floods.

Community awareness

Increased outreach efforts ensure residents are wellinformed about when and where to access fresh food distributions.

How does this solution make a difference? – Addressing prioritized shocks and stresses

Food insecurity

Economic insecurity

Extreme heat and floods

Improving access to fresh food

Trinity Houston Garden is a food desert—with the nearest grocery store selling fresh foods a 30-minute drive away. The Target Hunger Food Pantry Expansion project aims to expand access to healthy food in response to the community’s needs.

Building financial security

Building community resilience through food security, along with tackling hunger at its root – poverty, the project aims at improving the financial, social, and human capital of community residents.

Reducing heat and flood vulnerability

Limited access to fresh foods negatively impacts community health and puts residents at risk of hunger during extreme weather events. Improving access to fresh foods reduces one of the key vulnerabilities Trinity Houston Gardens residents are experiencing in the face of increasing heat and flood risks.

Census tracts in Houston flagged for low income and low food access within a 1-mile distance (Source: U.S Department of Agriculture Food Access Research Atlas).

Hot links

Need Food? - Target Hunger

Northeast Houston Redevelopment Council

Trinity Houston Gardens Community Action Plan