What year was your business founded? 

East Fort Bend Human Needs Ministry was founded in 1990, but our history proceeds that.

Describe your business, including history and the services you provide.

Our story began nearly 50 years ago in 1975 when Tri City Churches Resale Shop was founded with the mission to serve families in Stafford, Missouri City, and Sugar Land. In 1983, The Interfaith Food Pantry opened its temporary doors in New Hope Lutheran Church to provide food to our neighbors in East Fort Bend County. Together, the two organizations joined forces and East Fort Bend Human Needs Ministry was born in 1990. Tri City Churches Resale Shop is still thriving and continues to provide a large portion of EFBHNM’s overall funding.

Today, East Fort Bend Human Needs Ministry is a non-profit, charitable organization whose mission is to address the basic human needs of families facing food insecurity and/or temporary financial crisis in East Fort Bend County. Families can pick up food every week with 3-4 opportunities to do so. We also offer temporary financial assistance once per calendar year. We look forward to continuing the work that was started years ago and maintaining the mission and legacy of our founding congregations.

What makes your business organization stand out?

We have extremely loyal volunteers who show up and work every single day. With only 14 staff members, EFBHNM could not do what we do without our volunteers. When we moved to our current building in 2009, our then Executive Director knew she wanted our clients to be treated with dignity and respect. To make this happen, we have private interview rooms and our clients know we truly care about their wellbeing. We also provide temporary financial assistance in order to help our neighbors make ends meet.

Describe an exciting recent highlight of your business/organization.

We are extremely proud of our fundraisers! The work that goes into them is unprecedented and our donors, sponsors, and attendees alike rave about the various events. In June, we celebrated our 15th Annual Fort Bend Empty Bowls and raised over $350,000 for EFBHNM! A record-breaking year! Our 7th Annual OutRun Hunger 5K is scheduled for Saturday, September 28 hosted in Harvest Green by Johnson Development. The run raised over $35,000 in 2023 and with the growing Fort Bend County community, we’re sure to raise even more for the food pantry this year. OutRun Hunger is family friendly and open to the public with both a Kids Run and a timed 5K. It’s a fantastic sponsorship opportunity for small and large businesses alike! Every sponsorship level has the option to provide promotional materials in our runners swag bags as well as have a booth at our famous Post Race Party. The Post Race Party has something for kids of all ages! Check out our website for more information and to register for the run and reach out to Megan for sponsorship opportunities.

What has been your business’s proudest moment?

We are extremely proud to say that throughout global pandemics and natural disasters, our physical doors might have been closed but our proverbial doors remained open for serving clients. Following all necessary guidelines, our staff and volunteers always come together to think outside of the box and make sure our number one priority remains intact: neighbors helping neighbors.

What’s an interesting fact about your business that most people don’t know?

We are one of the few organizations that not only help pay rent, but we also help with mortgages. Truly helping our clients make ends meet.

What is your favorite part about being a member of the Chamber?

Connections and networking! Through the Chamber, we have met so many new faces turned sponsors, turned volunteers, and turned friends. Connecting with local partners of all sizes is one of our favorite things to do. We support them when we can and in turn they support East Fort Bend Human Needs Ministry.