Bastrop County food pantry to rebuild aging facility to meet growing needs

BASTROP COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) — Bastrop County is one of Central Texas' fastest-growing areas. Similarly, the Bastrop County Emergency Food Pantry has seen tremendous growth in demand for help.

"We have seen an 89% increase in requests for food and support since 2020," said the nonprofit's executive director Tresha Silva. "In 2023, we served the most neighbors that we ever served in our 37 years."

Silva said the nonprofit—which is the county's only food pantry open five days a week—wants to respond to every request for food. But aging and inadequate facilities are hindering the food pantry.

Currently, the Bastrop County food pantry operates from five spread-out buildings, including one building over 100 years old. In turn, the nonprofit is readying to rebuild its food pantry to meet current and anticipated needs for Bastrop County.

"There is no other alternative for our organization," Silva, who has worked as the pantry's executive director since 2001, said. "We have to address our aging facilities in order to be able to be what this county of 889 square miles needs us to be in the future."

'A game changer'

The food pantry hopes to break ground on a new 9,200-square-foot building in October.

The new facility will double the storage space to over a million pounds of food and expand with multiple intake rooms for families coming and asking for services. An existing building on Fayette Street will also be remodeled with a teaching kitchen and community room for educational opportunities.

Silva said she is most excited about a "corner store" set up where people can shop the pantry like a grocery store. This will lend dignity to people asking for support, Silva said.

"That is just going to really be a game changer for neighbors who need us not feeling like they're getting things put together for them," she said. "They're going to really be in the driver's seat as far as making their selections and their choices."

The nonprofit plans to open in December 2025 as a "Christmas present for us and our neighbors that we help," Silva said.

So far, the nonprofit has reached 80% of its $7 million project goal. Community members, foundations and businesses have helped the food pantry fundraise.

How to help the nonprofit

Daily needs are updated weekly in the nonprofit's "Wishlist Wednesday" posts on social media. A list of donation requests is also online.

The nonprofit also relies on volunteers to give from 300 to 500 hours of help each month, Silva said.

For the new building, the food pantry needs about $1 million to finish funding the $7 million project. Monetary donations can be made online.