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This border city is well known for being charitable, especially when the holidays roll around, but El Paso has been hit hard by the weakened national economy, which means that community volunteering and donations are on a decline even though there is a greater need than ever.

Nonprofit organizations such as the West Texas Food Bank, the Rescue Mission of El Paso and the Salvation Army need plenty of donations and volunteers year round, not only during the holiday season.

As part of the Youth for Human Rights International campaign, students at Ector Junior High conducted a food drive for the West Texas Food Bank. The students and staff filled more than five 55 gallon barrels with non-perishable items.

Just one week left in 2011 and if you haven't completely blown your budget on gifts, you can save some money on taxes.

Giving to a charity is a great way to continue the giving spirit during the holidays and a great write off on your income tax bill.

Members of Friendship Chapter No. 1008, Order of the Eastern Star along with members of the H. A. McFarland Lodge completed a food drive for the West Texas Food Bank.

Empty food bank shelves are one of the bad signs of the season. Pallets of food on them will be gone in a week-and-a-half.

But the need for food doesn't freeze along with the weather outside.

In fact, it starts heating up.

While at UTEP, Kimaiyo has been a member of SAAC and Miner GEMS for three consecutive years. She has participated in community projects such as Project MOVE (UTEP's campus community initiative), Let's SAAC Hunger, La Posada Home and the West Texas Food Bank.

The junior from Iten, Kenya, helped SAAC raise over 6,000 lbs for the West Texas Food Bank this year.

Dec. 20 - The Marfa Book Company will host Augie Fernandes, Director of the West Texas Food Bank, at 6 p.m. Ultimately, the goal of the presentation is to familiarize the public with the food bank and work toward ending hunger in our area.

Augie Fernandes, Executive Director of the West Texas Food Bank, speaks on Presidio County food distribution cut-backs. He is joined by Paige Phelps, Marketing Director.

Due to a lack of food donations the food bank has been forced to change their donation plan [in Presidio]. Instead of monthly food deliveries, they'll be making just four deliveries a year.

Hundreds of children were lined up outside the Club La Playa waiting to receive their presents for the "Santa's Helpers toy give-away"....

Many families at the event helped give back to the community by donating canned food for the West Texas Food Bank for the holidays.

The West Texas Food Bank has had a hard time filling their shelves for the holiday season, but now they're faced with a new problem. They're having a difficult time getting the food to those who need it most.

On Friday, the West Texas Food Bank received a huge donation from HEB.

The grocery store donated $10,000 worth of cereal.

As the need for assistance continues to increase despite the area's strong economy, staff at the West Texas Food Bank say they're grateful businesses are working to fill the gaps.

Corn flakes donated by H-E-B... Each case contains 12 boxes of cereal, which will provide about 6,000 meals.

A chain of events behind peanut butter has also affected the West Texas Food Bank’s purchasing methods.

Since the U.S. Department of Agriculture made cutbacks in the summer, discontinuing providing certain items including peanut butter at 10 cents per pound, the purchasing program of the Odessa branch for the West Texas Food Bank has experienced a drop in overall volume.

Your support has come through!

About a week ago we told you how donations were down at the West Texas Food Bank. After that coverage, many of you stepped forward with donations and some of you are even organizing food drives in your neighborhood, church or workplace.

A local dentist is donating all proceeds from dental cleaning to the West Texas Food Bank.

Dr. Mehrnoosh Darj will be offering $37 teeth cleanings and $37 exams. The regular price for the services is $285.

El Paso dentist Mehrnoosh Darj has a proposition for people needing to get their teeth cleaned: Let her do it, and she will donate money from the cleaning to the West Texas Food Bank.

"December is our make-or-break month," says Paige Phelps, West Texas Food Bank's director of Marketing and Community Relations. "This is going to determine how we do for the rest of the year and the upcoming year, and how many people we can feed, basically."

The holiday season is when most people think about giving, and Phelps is hoping that West Texans are looking to give to their local food bank.

"We're all thinking about gifts for other people, and this is the kind of gift that's going to make you feel really, really good," she said.

There are thousands of West Texans who struggle everyday to put food on the table, but what’s more concerning is the face behind those numbers.

The Breaking Bread soup kitchen in Midland is hustling and bustling on any given night during the week, serving up to 125 people an evening.

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The West Texas Food Bank supplies soup kitchens like Breaking Bread. Fernandes explains the majority of their clients are just working class families struggling to get by.

In addition to preparations for Black Friday, Hyacinth officially will celebrate its opening on Dec. 2, as part of the first annual Holiday in the Square at Oakridge Square. Charles Faudree, one of America's top 100 designers, will be in the shop to meet guests and autograph copies of his recently released book "Details." Merchants in the square are hosting special open houses and many are contributing a portion of their sales to charity. Hyacinth will be donating to the West Texas Food Bank. There also will be a visit from Santa Claus and music provided by Lonestar Brass.

For one Permian Basin charity, giving is year-round and numerous organizations in West Texas have benefited from their generosity.

But today the West Texas Food Bank is giving thanks for a $15,000 donation from the Permian Basin Lodge of B’Nai B'rith, a Jewish philanthropic organization located in Midland.

“The West Texas Food Bank needs so much so fast, we are pleased to help,” said Dr. Frank Kasman, the treasurer of the lodge.

The gift translates into 60,000 meals, officials at the WTFB said.

The permian basin lodge of B'nai B'rith is giving $15,000 to the West Texas Food Bank and $10,000 dollars to the Fireman's Fund of the Permian Basin.

You can help stock the shelves at the West Texas Food Bank by participating in Santa’s Gift of Food Drive Dec. 16 and 17 at Starbright Village at McKinney Park.

A shortage of donations to the West Texas Food Bank may leave more than 140,000 people hungry.
Ruben Sanchez, the director for the El Paso branch, said the West Texas Food Bank usually feeds about 220,000 people in the area with anywhere from 200,000 to 500,000 pounds of food.

However, this year the charity has only received 30,000 pounds of food.

"We're not going to be able to help all those people," Sanchez said. "Of those 220,000 people, 135,000 of them are children."

The West Texas Food Bank is always in need of food donations, and hunters have become a very big part of that.

Meat processor Clark's and Winford Meat Company in Midland say they have at least one donation for the food bank everyday.

In a holiday centered largely around feasts of golden brown turkeys, hearty stuffing and pumpkin pies, going without a traditional Thanksgiving meal would damper the holiday spirit for anyone.

But players of the Odessa Jackalopes hockey team are hoping to help some families in need with their Thanksgiving meals on Thursday.

On Monday, the West Texas Food Bank got some big help for their food supply from the Odessa Jackalopes.

On Monday, the Jacks brought in 700 pounds of food to the Bank.

Hundreds of families in the Borderland won't be able to afford a Thanksgiving meal.

The West Texas Food Bank, which supplies more than 220,000 people in El Paso County with food, said donations went down while demand went up. The food bank's director, Ruben Sanchez, said he hasn't seen it this bad it years.

The West Texas Food Bank and its partner agencies - including the Food Pantry of Alpine, the Food Pantry of Jeff Davis County and Family Crisis Center of the Big Bend - are offering clients $10 vouchers to spend on a turkey of their choice at any local store.

A group of Midland moms are trying to put food on the table for those who have fallen on hard times.

For the first time the West Texas Food Bank will not be handing out turkeys for Thanksgiving this year, instead they are handing out paper vouchers for clients to purchase a turkey for free from area grocery stores.

The West Texas Food Bank and its partner agencies - including the Food Pantry of Alpine, the Food Pantry of Jeff Davis County and Family Crisis Center of the Big Bend - are offering clients $10 vouchers to spend on a turkey of their choice at any local store.

The Moms Club of Midland is hoping to ensure fewer children are going hungry in the coming months.

After hearing children make up about 45 percent of the West Texas Food Bank's clients, the women felt compelled to do something for the kids in their community. They wouldn't want their own children going hungry and don't want any others to suffer.

Quintessentially known as the “season of giving,” the Thanksgiving and Christmas season warrants the need for more volunteers at nonprofit organizations.

After a grueling summer of little food and bare shelves, West Texas Food Bank officials said the food bank and its partner agencies are slowly improving their situation as the holiday season approaches.

The El Paso Roller Derby League has scheduled a bout this Saturday to benefit the West Texas Food Bank.

Local high school student leaders are stepping up to the plate to help The West Texas Food Bank.

The West Texas Food Bank surpassed its fundraising goal for the year, earning more than $100,000 from its Culinary Canvas fundraiser.

We laud the efforts of the bank, in operation here the past 16 years. It's our main hub for feeding those who don't have food for their tables - and for "kids (who now) go to school to eat."

This is an issue West Texas has seen for many months now, but this time the rising prices are going further, taking a toll on the Basin's hungry kids.

For the "Food 2 Kids" program in Odessa, feeding schoolchildren over the weekends who otherwise wouldn't eat, the rising food prices don't look good for them either.

"We're either going to have to feed less children or provide less food in the sacks, maybe going to something different as far as food items go, maybe something that's less expensive as far as on the meat products," "Food 2 Kids" Chair, Mandi Higgins, said.

For the entire school year, underprivileged students at a West El Paso elementary school are getting a helping hand from members of the Junior League.

Sesame Street is unveiling a new Muppet, who is dealing with a real life hardship.
The new character Lily... faces the ongoing struggle of living in poverty and dealing with hunger.

It's a sad truth many of you may not know about. Hundreds of kids going hungry every weekend in Ector County but one local organization is trying to change that.

The weekend is supposed to be a time for kids to relax and have fun but that's not always the case in Ector County.

The Students in Philanthropy program, started in 1997 at Midland College, has only been around nine years in the Ector County Independent School District, but the organization is making a name for itself with the amount of work they do with local nonprofit organizations.

More than two in three children in El Paso County's four largest school districts go to school hungry each day.

...If that isn't shocking enough, U.S. Census data tell us there are more than 229,000 total individuals suffering from food insecurity in El Paso County. That means nearly a third of our county's population has no food, or very limited food, on any given day.

The U.S. Census Bureau reports that one in seven Americans live in poverty. Fourteen percent of our country depends on federal assistance through agencies such as the West Texas Food Bank. Now, those agencies are facing budget cut recommendations from a congressional super committee. The committee was created to present ways to eliminate $1.5 billion from the federal budget.

West Texas Food Bank officials say any cuts would be disastrous to the children, seniors and families they serve in the Permian Basin.

Odessans opened up their hearts and wallets Friday during the 13th annual Empty Bowls fundraiser at St. John’s Episcopal Church to help raise money for the West Texas Food Bank.

One "can" make a difference. That was the motto of Friday's event at Insights Science Museum in Central El Paso. After almost two decades and competitions in 140 cities around the world, CanStruction came to the Sun City

Through a combined effort by all Alpine Station Units, agents donated almost 7,000 pounds to the Food Pantry of Alpine by collecting 356 pounds in June, 1,098 pounds in July and 5,504 pounds in August.

Any student (K-12) will receive free admission to the football game this Saturday between Sul Ross and Texas Lutheran University by contributing a canned food item.

The Food Pantry of Alpine will distribute free supplemental food from 9-11 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 1, at its new location inside the West Texas Food Bank in Alpine, 2101 FM 1703, near the intersection of FM 1703 and West U.S. Hwy. 90.

It may look like there's plenty of food to go around, but the West Texas Food Bank is running low on supplies.
That's why the El Paso Leadership group is dedicated to this special project.

On Friday from 7 p.m. till 9 p.m., St. John’s Episcopal Church, 401 N. West County Road, will be holding their 13th annual Empty Bowl fundraiser in which $10 will get you a ceramic bowl, soup donated by Catfish and Company, a drink and dessert donated by Jalisco’s Restaurant. All proceeds raised Friday will go towards the West Texas Food Bank.

As the number of soldiers on post surges, the emergency food closet there is being overwhelmed by the still small but growing population of soldiers who cannot afford a sufficient supply of food.

At the same time, Army data show the use of food stamps on Fort Bliss, while still quite low, has almost tripled over the past three years, as the post has grown.

Sabrina and other members of the VFW heard the West Texas Food Bank simply cannot keep up with its demand for food so they're dedicating the month of September to helping it get back on track.

"People only think about us on the holidays, on Thanksgiving, Christmas and sometimes Easter when it pulls a heartstring," Sanchez said. "But hunger exists 365 days out of the year."

“We are emergency food. We are there for people down on their luck. I’ve been told again and again why people come in – job loss, a terrible illness, divorce or death. Any of those things could happen to anyone on this planet,” WTFB spokesperson Paige Phelps said.

A new non-profit corporation known as El Pasoans Fighting Hunger, or EPFH, is launching a major campaign in the community on behalf of the hungry.

About 86,000 children in El Paso don't get regular, healthy meals, according to a national Feeding Families study.

That's about one in three children under 18 years old, compared to the national average of one in four.

Cuatro de cada 10 niños en el Condado de El Paso pasan hambre en sus hogares, revela un nuevo estudio del Banco de Alimentos del Oeste de Texas y Alimentando a America.

There are more than 11,000 children at risk of going hungry in Odessa. In Midland, there are more than 8,000. Child hunger in the Permian Basin is very real.

The West Texas Food Bank is asking El Pasoans for donations to feed the 86,000 kids at risk for hunger in El Paso.

Nearly a third of children in Ector County suffer from food insecurity, according to statistics released Thursday. And some in the community are looking to do something about it.

Forty four percent of all children in Presidio County don’t have access to healthy meals on a regular basis, according to a new study released today, Map the Meal Gap 2011.

That’s 950 kids right here at home who can’t count on daily balanced meals and consequently, can’t count on proper development, mental and physical health, or peace of mind.

More than one in three children suffer from food insecurity in the 22-county area served by the West Texas Food Bank, according to a report released Thursday.

Our low unemployment rate and booming development are overshadowing the hunger problem that is also booming in West Texas.

The hungry people of West Texas will be able to get their fill of chicken, at least for a few weeks.

Chuck Sturgeon, of NC Sturgeon Construction, has donated the money to purchase half a truck of chicken for the food bank; Sturgeon is now challenging the community to help fill the other half.

Food scarcity for the West Texas Food Bank is now a food crisis.

Local news stations across El Paso are coming together for one cause- The West Texas Food Bank.

Sanchez said the West Texas Food Bank remains open and, as a member of Feeding America -- the nation's largest organization in battling hunger -- continues to help people in need.

The West Texas Food Bank will head to Presidio on Aug. 17 for its monthly food outreach, but unless donations quickly increase, people will be leaving without the food needed to nourish their families.

The West Texas Food Bank may have trouble meeting the food needs for residents in West Texas this month.

Ruben Sanchez of the agency's El Paso branch said Monday that food pantries are looking for more help even as donations from drought-stricken farmers fall off.