Bay Area Meals on Wheels has received grants in two consecutive cycles of the Texas Department of Agriculture’s Texans Feeding Texans Home-Delivered Meal Grant Program — a state initiative funded through House Bill 407 that directs resources to nonprofits delivering meals directly to homebound Texans.
Across the 2022 and 2024 award cycles, BAMOW received a combined total of $63,865:
A program that rewards what gets delivered
Unlike competitive grants, the Texans Feeding Texans program uses a formula tied to the number of meals an organization actually delivers. That means the awards directly reflect BAMOW’s presence in the community — and grow as the organization serves more neighbors.
The grants cover both the Harris County and Galveston County portions of the BAMOW service area, recognizing that the Clear Lake community straddles both county lines. BAMOW is one of a relatively small number of home-delivered meal programs in Texas small enough to be entirely volunteer-run while still qualifying for state support.
The neighbors behind the numbers
Every grant-funded meal goes to someone who cannot easily prepare food at home — a senior managing a chronic illness, a neighbor recovering from surgery, someone whose mobility has made standing at the stove impossible. For many clients, the daily delivery is also their main human contact of the day.
BAMOW serves 90 to 100 neighbors every weekday, five days a week, every week of the year — including holidays. Across a year, that adds up to more than 21,000 hot meals, 10,000 bag lunches, and 5,000 weekend meals. Every delivery is made by a volunteer in their own vehicle.
We are grateful to the Texas Department of Agriculture and the Texas Legislature for recognizing home-delivered meal programs as essential infrastructure — and for the continued state investment in the neighbors we serve.