“Catalyzing Change at the Houston Food Bank”

Born and raised in Corpus Christi, Analicia has lived and traveled throughout Texas, beginning her undergraduate education in San Antonio before transferring to the University of Texas at El Paso where she studied political science, criminal justice, and intelligence & national security studies. While finishing her degree at UTEP, Analicia served as an AmeriCorps VISTA in El Paso with the Texas Hunger Initiative, working with local schools across Region 19 in Texas, nonprofits like Texas A&M Colonias Program and Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, and local & state agencies to alleviate food insecurity in her community, particularly by utilizing social media to bring awareness to the issues & promote ongoing efforts addressing those issues. This past spring, she worked as a policy aide at the 86th convening of the Texas State Legislature as a Senate Hispanic Research Council Luna Scholar for the Office of State Senator José Rodríguez, focusing on natural resources & economic development, water & rural affairs, business & commerce, and agriculture policy issue areas. Her passions and interests drive her pursuit of finding the equitable public good as she continues to find opportunities to work on complex social issues involving food access, public health, environmental justice, and affordable housing.

Heather Street graduated from the University of Georgia with degrees in cellular biology and women’s studies. During her time at UGA, Heather cultivated her passion for social justice by organizing around maternal and child health with the grassroots global health organization Partners in Health Engage. She discovered the urgency of food equity as a pillar of social justice while taking a women’s studies service-learning class that confronted the intersections among food, gender, race, and class. Inspired to make a greater impact, Heather continued to live in Athens, Georgia, and served as a Senior Hunger AmeriCorps VISTA at the Athens Community Council on Aging where she worked with several programs to distribute fresh and commodity foods to vulnerable older adults in her community.

The Houston Food Bank is a solution to both hunger and food waste. America’s largest and nationally recognized as Feeding America’s Food Bank of the Year in 2015, the Food Bank distributes 122 million nutritious meals through its network of 1,500 community partners in southeast Texas, feeding 800,000 individuals each year.