Houston Food Bank couldn’t do it without her, officials say. Here’s why she keeps showing up

Around 1 million people in southeast Texas are considered food insecure. This Houston woman decided she couldn’t just scroll past that statistic.

HOUSTON — If you volunteer at the Houston Food Bank, there’s a good chance you’ll run into Caroline Esses. She’s kind of hard to miss.

Esses, an empty nester with time on her hands, spends about 17 hours a week volunteering at the food bank, where she serves as one of the organization’s “apple core leaders” and even trains new volunteers. And when she leaves, she doesn’t stop giving. She keeps an extra box of food in her car at all times, ready to hand out if she spots someone in need.

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It’s a habit that actually got her pulled over once.

“Then a few years ago, I was pulled over by a police officer who saw me and he was very nice, but he suggested I be a little more careful,” Esses said.

That encounter, along with encouragement from friends and family, is what led her to the Houston Food Bank in the first place. Before that, she was simply handing food to people on the street out of her car.

When asked why she chose this kind of volunteering, Esses said she’s always felt a pull toward it.

“I don’t know why. I’ve always had a passion with, always felt bad for people who are on the street asking for food.”

The need in Houston is real. The food bank serves around 1 million people across 18 southeast Texas counties who are considered food insecure, according to the organization.

Esses said the scale of the problem is hard to ignore.

“I think it’s bad. I think it’s food insecurity.”

Andrea Richardson, the director of volunteer services at the Houston Food Bank, said people like Esses are the backbone of the organization.

“We could not run the way we do, we could not serve the people we do without people like Caroline who choose to give so much of their time and effort to the Houston Food Bank.”

One moment that stuck with Esses happened while she was driving and spotted a woman and her young child on the side of the road.

“I was driving somewhere and there was a lady, her child on the side of the street, and he was so appreciative, this little child, this 8-year-old kid, of this box of food.”

The Houston Food Bank’s volunteer spotlight on Esses is part of a broader “America 250” series recognizing everyday people making a difference in their communities as the country marks its 250th anniversary this year.

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