El Pasoans Fighting Hunger Food Bank calls in National Guard for help to distribute meals

EL PASO, Texas - With Covid-19 forcing business and job closures across the Borderland, the El Pasoans Fighting Hunger Food Bank has seen a dramatic increase in families seeking aid.

"We are providing emergency food boxes for about 25 to 30,000 families a week," says Susan Goodell, CEO of the food bank.

With the numbers of families dramatically outweighing the number of volunteers, the Food Bank has sought the aid of the National Guard to help distribute meals.

Starting Wednesday at 8:30 a.m., members of the National Guard will be deployed at each of the four food bank locations across El Paso to help with packaging meals in boxes for distribution.

Goodell says that the food bank put in a request for the National Guard through both the governor's office and the state's emergency management center, but she is unsure who authorized the request.