COLUMBUS - The Co -
lumbus Food Pantry press release: The board of direc - tors would like to thank the community for its interest and support. With your help, the Columbus Food Pantry was able to fill the food gap for many families in our commu - nity. Our mission is "Commu - nity churches working togeth - er to eliminate hunger". The Columbus Food Pantry is an independent 501C3 nonprofit organization. Our Pantry is 100% vol - unteer supported. It is because of you that we can provide much-needed services to fam -
ilies in our community. 2025 Summary Program While we
are aware that we serve sev- eral households that cannot survive without our services, for the most part, our goal is to supplement the needs of our clients: help them become independent and not create a dependency. The average vis - its per household in 2025 were five. In 2025, we were made aware of youths in our com - munity who are living alone and are food-challenged. In partnership with St. John's Episcopal Church in Colum - bus, we are working with school counselors and have developed take-home bags that will provide a full meal. They are easy to prepare and are dis -
creetly distributed to avoid any judgment from peers. We con - tinue to support Food Closets in our local schools. The Food Closets provide snacks for children who need them on any given day. Total Households in 2025 589; Total Individuals in 2025 1980; Average monthly visits per household five; Average households per month 244; Average individuals per month - 783. We continued to augment the monthly food bags for most of the year to include fresh fruit and vegetables, eggs, and more meat, including HEB vouchers for holiday meat and produce in November. Fi - nance- We were able to stay within our budget of $54,700 for food purchases for the year. That number increased after the first quarter of 2025 in or - der tocontinue to provide eggs to our clients monthly. The total cost of food was $51,376. This expense was $39,550 in 2024. This increase was due to three things: egg prices, overall inflation, and the availability of goods we could purchase from the Food Bank of the Golden Crescent at a cost of $.19 per pound. We received grants from both cor - porate and private foundations.
Our individual donor base was expanded. (979) 500-4292 columbusfoodpantry@gmail. com http://www.facebook. com/nobodyhungry P.O. Box 1253 Columbus, TX 78934 Community Churches working together to eliminate hunger, as scripture Matthew 25:35 directs.
Thank you for your gener - osity! Columbus Food Pantry, Inc. (EIN #82-4107029) is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organi - zation. No goods or services were provided in exchange for your donations. In addition to cash donations, we received dona -
tions of food products from our local HEB, Brookshire Broth - ers, and Walmart. We were the beneficiary of several food drives at local area schools, churches, and community events.
Our Volunteers donate countless hours that we cannot begin to place a value on. Our In-Kind donors donate items that help with special circum - stances as they arise through - out the year. Another priceless value. Operations Our scope of volunteers has expanded beyond our churches. Volunteers are from many local service clubs, schools, businesses, profes - sional organizations and indi -
viduals that share our passion. We continue to develop work - able Policies and Procedures for our operations. We have written guidelines for invento - ry, ordering food, and financial procedures. We continue to cross-train volunteers and board mem - bers. We continue to use social and print media to convey our mission and service availabili -
ty. We look forward to con -
tinuing our work in 2026 to raise community awareness of the Columbus Food Pan -
try and the purpose it serves. While we appreciate all dona - tions and understand how food drives are community-building events and teach children the value of giving to others, if you are considering giving to the Food Pantry or organizing a fundraiser on our behalf, your monetary gifts go a long way. Did you know that a $1 donation can purchase five pounds of food from our re - gional Food Bank, Food Bank of the Golden Crescent? For this reason, we do encourage monetary gifts to maximize your resources. If you have questions about your receipt or the food pantry operations, please contact us at 979-500-4292 or via email at columbusfoodpantry@gmail. com. Please also follow us on Facebook where we post re -
minders and information at http://www.facebook.com/no -
bodyhungry.
