Food insecurity is rising sharply in Travis County, with the number of Austin area residents who struggle to afford food expected to continue rising in the coming years absent interventions from both local and federal governments.
At a conference at the Austin Area Research Organization in December, Workforce Solutions CEO Tamara Atkinson told Vatske that her organization was moving out of its building and was looking for a new home. Within just a few months, the two organizations were moving towards a deal to bring their services under the same roof at the food bank headquarters on Montopolis Drive in Southeast Austin. For the food bank, which has long sought to provide or facilitate the provision of wraparound services like culinary and warehouse training programs to its clients, connecting with an organization like Workforce Solutions made sense as a means of addressing food insecurity.