Every year, around the holidays, H-E-B hosts the “Feast of Sharing,” feeding thousands of people in need. Wednesday night, organizers say this year’s need is much greater than in years past. At Dickie’s Arena in Fort Worth, the line to get into this event wrapped around the building. 

“We got here about 3:08 and got in line, and when we got here to the table, it was 4:20,” Nikia Brown said. 

She didn’t mind the wait because right now, putting food on the table for her three kids is a struggle, especially with the government shutdown and reduction of SNAP benefits. 

“We’re actually living in a shelter right now because of loss of income, the rent went up,” she said. “Things are really difficult right now, so being able to come here, we enjoy that.” 

The Feast of Sharing is funded entirely by H-E-B and put on by hundreds of volunteers. 

It’s part of a bigger network of events the grocer does across the country, treating guests to a holiday dinner, live music and a number of health and family services. 

Growing need across Texas

“We had our first couple of events down in the valley, the border region, and those events have been up 25 to 30% across all of them, so the need is there,” Central Market General Manager Fort Worth Austin Jourde said. “I think last year we served 7,500 meals, we were planning for 9,000, but we should hit north of 10,000 this year pretty easily.” 

“It does seem like it’s more packed this year than it was last year,” Desalin Deese said. “Especially, with what’s going on in our world with the shutdown, we need more help now than ever.” 

Brown says for anyone trying to get back on their feet, events like this can be a lifeline. She offers these words of encouragement to anyone facing her same struggles. 

“Just stay strong,” she said. “Stay hopeful. It will get better, just stay hopeful.”

If you missed this event, there’s still another opportunity to attend. 

H-E-B will be hosting the Feast of Sharing in Dallas on Thursday, November 20, from 3-7 p.m. at Fair Park’s Centennial Building. Anyone can attend.Â