Feeding America CEO Claire L. Babineaux-Fontenot volunteers during the East Texas Food Bank’s weekly emergency food box distribution event at the East Texas State Fairgrounds in Tyler on Friday.

During her visit to East Texas, Feeding America CEO Claire Babineaux-Fontenot said the COVID-19 pandemic has created a “perfect storm” due to increases in demand for food and decreases both in supply and volunteers.

At a news conference Friday at the Rose Garden Center in Tyler, she shared what’s being done on the national and local level to help people during the COVID-19 pandemic.

She called the number of people facing food insecurity staggering as the demand swells and the supplies go downward.

National estimates show 53 million people could soon be food insecure because of the impact of the pandemic.

“It will inordinately impact children,” she said. “We expect the number of children experiencing food insecurity to grow to 20 million.”

Babineaux-Fontenot visited the East Texas Food Bank as part of a mission to visit all agencies in the Feeding America organization.

“This food bank in particular has distinguished itself in its leadership and compassion and its execution and its impact,” she said. “So, of course, I would have come without a pandemic, I have even more of a reason to come here. You’ve always been generous but you’ve never shown the depths of the generosity that you have as of late.”

Dennis Cullinane, CEO of East Texas Food Bank, said the food bank’s partner groups had to change models to safely feed the increasing masses.

“We’ve seen a dramatic increase in need, not only in East Texas,” he said. “This was a crisis before there was a crisis.”

Texas is ranked seventh in food insecurity rates at 20% for the total population and 22% for children.

In the East Texas Food Bank’s 26-county coverage area, the food insecurity rate has increased to 22%, which is up from 17% in 2018. The child food insecurity rate rose to 35% from 25% two years ago.

About 1 in 4 East Texans, including 1 in 3 children, are facing hunger, according to the food bank’s numbers.

He said the amount of people coming to weekly distribution has confirmed the numbers.

“We’ve been incredibly busy,” Cullinane said.

Cullinane added that the National Guard’s assistance since early April has been invaluable since volunteers had to leave due to most being an at-risk population.

“It takes a village to build a box (of food),” he said.

Babineaux-Fontenot also thanked the National Guard for helping the East Texas Food Bank with distribution as volunteers left because of the virus.

“There are lots of reasons why we should respect the men and women of the military,” she said. “Let’s add this one among the reasons: that when their neighbors were hungry, they showed up and made certain that they had something to eat.”

The vast majority of regular food bank volunteers are over 65 and a large number are over 70, she said.

“It is not in their interest to come out and volunteer when they are uniquely impacted by this virus,” Babineaux-Fontenot said. “We’ve had to significantly change our whole apparatus for how we deliver food.”

Cullinane said Feeding America has been very supportive of the food bank’s mission to feed those in need.

While the pandemic has led to several negative consequences, Babineaux-Fontenot hopes the public will now understand that hunger is in America.

“With that awareness, I hope we also understand that hunger happens to your neighbor and at all times your neighbor’s done everything by the book and it happened anyway,” she said.

Almost 50% of the people getting help right now have never received help from the food charities and some just recently lost their jobs through no fault of their own, she noted.

On a positive note, Babineaux-Fontenot said as of the second week of May, Feeding America groups have provided one billion meals across the U.S.

The best way people can help is by going to the Feeding America website to donate to local food banks and locate services in their area, she added.

People wanting to help the East Texas Food Bank can contact its local partner agencies by visiting at easttexasfoodbank.org at the “find food” tab.