Community Meetings
In the fall of 2025, the Mary E. Bivins Foundation hosted a series of eight community meetings across across the Panhandle to listen, learn, and collaborate with service providers, community leaders, and residents on the issue of hunger and food insecurity among older adults.
Kat English, Senior Hunger Program Officer, presents to a crowd of service providers and community members gathered at the Amarillo meeting held at the Amarillo College Innovation Outpost on October 2, 2025.
.jpg)
Pictured on the left are attendees of the Borger meeting held at Frank Phillips College on September 24, 2025. Pictured to the right is the community meeting setup in Childress held at the Clarendon College Childress Center on October 1, 2025.
Sharing Needs and Solutions
In the summer of 2025, the Foundation surveyed local food program providers. A total of 32 organizations responded providing valuable insight into the challenges they face, the needs that exist, and the opportunities there are for us to work together.
The purpose of the community meetings was to share information about Senior Hunger Solutions, have conversations around the recent survey results, add depth to those findings, and ultimately discuss next steps for the Foundation in supporting our shared goal of meeting the needs of older adults in our region.
Over 75 individuals attended, representing a wide range of community partners and the public, including the High Plains Food Bank, various social service agencies such as Panhandle Community Services, rural hospital districts, WTAMU and the Baylor University Collaborative on Hunger and Poverty, city and county governments, home-delivered and congregate meal providers, senior and community centers, and many local food pantries.