Reducing Barriers to Food Access Through School-Based Food Pantries

Reducing Barriers to Food Access Through School-Based Food Pantries

Every Friday, Elizabeth Engelhardt unlocks the door to the food pantry at A&M Consolidated High School to welcome students and staff in so they can pick up the non-perishables and hygiene products they need.

Engelhardt has been running the pantry at the College Station, Texas, high school for the past two years with the help of her colleagues. The school is one of 13 middle, intermediate and high schools taking part in the Brazos Valley Food Bank's School Pantry Program, which embeds food pantries in schools to help reduce barriers to food access and ensure that the people living in Brazos Valley have the food they need.

Texas has the highest food insecurity rate in the nation with 5.3 million Texans facing insecurity, according to data from Feeding America. In Brazos Valley, 1 in 5 households with children report food insecurity.

"Our kids and staff can't do their very best work if they aren't being fed properly," says Engelhardt, a special education teacher. "We're always going to make sure that if we know basic needs aren't being met that we're helping the best we can."

With funding support from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas, Brazos Valley Food Bank exceeded its goal during the 2024-25 school year and reached more than 7,700 individuals across three counties.

BCBSTX awarded $2 million in grants in 2025 to 84 community-based organizations statewide, including Brazos. The Blue Impact^SM grant program is focused on addressing food insecurity and other social and economic factors that affect health. That includes investments in fresh fruit and vegetable delivery nonprofit Brighter Bites and food bank El Pasoans Fighting Hunger.

Over the past year, BCBSTX employees volunteered more than 4,500 hours toward 186 organizations fighting hunger across the state.

"For nearly a century, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas has stood by the belief that real, lasting change happens when communities come together," said Patty Escoe, vice president of Texas Plan Operations. "We're truly honored to partner with the Brazos Valley Food Bank in their fight against hunger. By supporting their passion and expertise to strengthen nutrition across Brazos Valley, we're not just filling plates - we're helping inspire healthier futures and building essential life skills."

Brazos Valley Food Bank distributes food to more than 100 local agencies, delivering 7.6 million pounds of food each year to Brazos, Burleson, Grimes, Madison, Robertson & Washington Counties.

Nearly 60% of the people served live in rural areas with limited access to food.

"Many of these kids come from families that don't have transportation or face other barriers to reaching food," says Winter Terral, Brazos Valley Food Bank's special programs manager, who oversees the school pantry program. "Since they're in school every day, the school-based food pantries are a great bridge between Brazos and them."

Students at A&M Consolidated High School can use the same app on their devices for accessing homework to click a button and sign-up to visit the food bank.

Via the app, Engelhardt receives a notification, and students and staff can grab what they need. The food pantry provides the benefit of helping prevent hunger and provides valuable life skills, such as practicing purchasing items and taking inventory, to her special education students as they seek to transition back into their home and community.

Each school in the Brazos network operates their food pantry differently but one commonality that Engelhardt and other pantry leaders see is the strong bonds formed between schools, children and families.

"We have students who frequently visit the pantry with our nurses, counselors and assistant principals, and we've built good relationships with their families as well," she says. "We're very inclusive and we make sure everyone on campus is taken care of."