Mission Statement
To share the love of Christ by recovering food for those who need to be served in Angelina County.
Our History
Second Helpings was born of a vision. When Aurelia Newton, who has always had a passion for feeding the hungry, moved to Lufkin in 2015, she recognized the level of food insecurity in Angelina County and the need for a program to address the issue.
Together with friends and fellow church members from Lufkin’s First Baptist Church, the group traveled to Waco, Texas to find out more about Baylor University's “Campus Kitchen” program that collects food from on-campus dining facilities and distributes it where it is needed. The Lufkin group also utilized Aurelia’s knowledge of a similar program she founded, School Fuel in San Marcos, Texas. Taking the information learned from these programs, the group formed Second Helpings of Angelina County.
The new program conducted a trial-run in the summer of 2017. Over the summer, Second Helpings volunteers collected unserved food from Slack Elementary and distributed it to local charitable organizations and smaller churches to supply food for their community feeding programs. Taking the lessons learned from this trial and tweaking the program, Second Helpings commenced full activity in the fall of 2017. Volunteers collected 38,277 meals from four local public schools during this first school year. To date, Second Helpings has collected and distributed over 170,000 meals throughout Angelina County.
Second Helpings expanded in the fall of 2019 with Second Sacks, which aims to provide students with food to sustain them outside of the school week. On Fridays, Second Sacks volunteers deliver food sacks to children who may not have food over the weekend.
Our volunteers represent community leaders, churches, social organizations, and businesses, who all share the same vision- feeding children and adults in our own community.
In January of 2020, Aurelia Newton and the program were recognized by Lufkin/Angelina Chamber of Commerce and the Pineywoods Foundation with The Golden Anvil Award, an award given to community members who demonstrate outstanding service in the community.
Food Insecurity
A household-level economic and social condition of limited or uncertain access to adequate food.
United States Food Insecurity
In 2019, food insecurity, reduced quality and quantity of food, plagued 10.5 percent of U.S. households at least some time during the year. Of these, 4.1 percent, which represents over 5 million households, experience very low food security which includes lower food availability and intake.
Texas Food Insecurity
Texas families are not exempt from food insecurity. One in seven or 14% of Texans lack a sufficient amount of food. The severity of this situation in the Lone Star State is stark when you realize that this statistic translates to well over one million households and 4 million individuals. As one of 15 states that has a higher level of food insecurity than other states, Texas has particular problems in rural areas where the problem is exacerbated by economic woes and lack of access to healthy food.
1 in 7 Texans experience food insecurity
Angelina County Food Insecurity
Located in the heart of East Texas, Angelina County is not immune from the problem of food insecurity. According to a 2018 study conducted by Feeding America, over 15 thousand citizens, including roughly 6,000 children, are impacted by inadequate access to food.
After everyone was full, Jesus told his disciples, “Now gather the leftovers, so that nothing is wasted.”
John 6:12
Programs
Second Helpings.
Second Helpings saw a need in the community- food insecurity, especially in children, and we have worked to close the gap. Every week that school is in session, our Second Helping volunteers go into Lufkin ISD cafeterias and collect unserved food, packaged by the lunch servers, and deliver the food to our Second Helpings hub for distribution. The food is divided and delivered by our volunteers to our community partners based on daily need.
Second Sacks
During the 2019-2020 school year, Second Helpings expanded by adding Second Sacks to provide nutritionally balanced non-perishable foods to students for the weekend. Every Friday, over 150 students count on Second Sacks deliveries. These sacks are imperative to providing food to sustain students through the weekend and positively impact academic performance.
Ready to take the next step?
Help turn hunger into hope! Learn more about how you can help Second Helpings end hunger in our community through donating or volunteering. It doesn’t take a big commitment to make a big impact. Your gift of money or time will make a difference in the lives of your neighbors struggling with hunger.