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Chevron donated a 53-acre parcel to the Houston Food Bank for a second warehouse and distribution center, adding more distribution capacity for the organization, which has seen increased demand since 2021's winter storm and the coronavirus.
The land is at Ella Boulevard and State Highway 249 and is valued at around $10M, according to the food bank. It was looking at properties, including in Northwest Houston, when Chevron approached it about the land.
“This donation is truly an integrated social investment,” Houston Food Bank Chief Development Officer Amy Ragan said in a release. “Houston Food Bank needs to grow, and this amazing gift is literally the foundation that will enable the much-needed expansion to happen.”
Chevron has donated nearly $1M to the Houston Food Bank since 2018 through matching employee donations and in food bank programs like Backpack Buddy and Food for Change. It's also the food bank's largest volunteer partner by hours and number of participants, with its employees volunteering 12,000 hours since 2018.
“The Houston Food Bank is doing incredible work helping our community thrive and prosper,” Chevron Technical Center President Eimear Bonner said. “Today, with Chevron’s donation of 53 acres of land, the food bank can accelerate plans to build its new distribution center helping to provide new services, recruit more volunteers and distribute food more equitably.”
Bonner serves on the Houston Food Bank board.
Since recent natural disasters and the pandemic-spurred economic softening have increased the need for food bank services, the Houston Food Bank has used temporary warehouses to match demand. It rented a Greenspoint warehouse in August 2020, the Houston Business Journal reported, as surges of donations meant that it had too much food without sufficient storage for it.
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