Hundreds of thousands of North Texas families experience food insecurity, negatively impacting some of our youngest Texans. Since September is Hunger Action Month, this is a powerful time to call attention to the topic of food access, which is central to our work at United Way of Metropolitan Dallas and was one of our key policy priorities during this year’s 89th Texas legislative session.  

Read on to learn more about key steps the Texas Legislature took during its regular session to support Texas children facing hunger, as well as ways you can support our neighbors right here in North Texas.  

Hunger Is on the Rise in Texas and Across the Nation 

Today, millions of Americans face hunger amid rising food costs and funding cuts to federal nutrition programs.  

About 47 million people across the country—including 14 million children—regularly experience hunger, according to data from Feeding America. The most recent data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture shows that Texas has the second highest rate of food insecurity, meaning that one in six households, including nearly 5.1 million Texans, are at risk of hunger. 

Feeding America’s “Elevating Voices: Insights Report,” released earlier this month, provides a snapshot of the reality of hunger in the United States. A majority surveyed fell between the ages of 30-44, live in metropolitan areas of the South, and are White homeowners.  Survey respondents referenced high costs of food continuing to strain household budgets, causing 52% to run out of food in the last year and 28% to run out of food in the last month. Hunger takes a toll on both physical and mental health.  

Public funding supports local food banks through programs like the Surplus Agricultural Products Grant, Summer Meals Program and USDA Commodity Distribution program. These initiatives make shelf-stable foods available to low-income children, seniors and families. However, Congress recently made sweeping funding cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Medicaid, putting food and healthcare out of reach for millions of Americans. This means that our neighbors require additional public and private support. 

Texas Legislature Passes Critical School Meals Legislation 

Earlier this year, the 89th Texas Legislature addressed this critical issue during its regular session, by focusing on the topic of school meals. This month, legislation went into effect ensuring that all Texas students eligible for reduced-priced school meals will receive breakfast and lunch at no cost for the next two school years. Texas lawmakers approved $19.8 million to cover the cost of reduced priced meals, representing a $13.2 million increase from the previous legislative session. Texas State House Reps. Armando Walle and Toni Rose, who represents Dallas, helped champion this legislation.  

The legislature also passed a $60 million budget rider that would have enabled Texas to implement the federal Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) program in 2027.  However, Gov. Greg Abbott vetoed this budget rider.  

More than 100 faith leaders and statewide and local organizations, including United Way of Metropolitan Dallas, signed onto a letter urging the governor to reconsider this vetoed legislation. In the letter, advocates underscore how this veto will turn away $450 million in federally funded nutritional assistance for children who would lose access to school meals during the summer. The letter also explains how Summer EBT is not funded through SNAP and would not be affected by the recent SNAP funding cuts. 

Volunteer to Support Food Access in North Texas  

United Way of Metropolitan Dallas offers multiple opportunities to support families who are food insecure. Visit our volunteer page to explore our latest volunteer opportunities in partnership with local food pantries and food banks. Also, sign up for our Advocacy Alerts and Policy in Brief newsletter, and join us as we advocate to ensure that all North Texans can thrive.