Houston Food Bank "Overwhelmed"

While food banks across the state minister to the needs of the thousands who fled the Houston area last week, the Houston Food Bank itself is faced with an entire city of need.

Yesterday, CNN profiled the work of the food bank to feed the tens of thousands of local families stuck without refrigeration - efforts demanding 500,000 pounds of food each day.

The food bank is "utterly overwhelmed" said its president, Brian Greene. "It's a very similar situation that I saw following Katrina: when the caregivers themselves [are] victims, it just becomes difficult on a far larger scale than you would think."

Meanwhile, the State of Texas has moved to help by issuing energency food stamps to affected families as quickly as possible (1, 2, 3). Worth an average of $93 per month, these benefits can be used to purchase groceries and hot / prepared food, which is usually forbidden by federal regulations.