As part of its ongoing efforts to tackle the stubborn problem of food insecurity in Greater Houston, Memorial Hermann has given hundreds of eligible families vouchers to buy fresh fruits and vegetables thanks to an innovative new partnership between the health system, Target and Wholesome Wave.
Nearly one out of every five families in the Houston region struggles with hunger or a lack of access to healthy and nutritious food, almost double the national average. The crisis is even more acute among area youth, where an estimated one out of every four children under the age of 18 faces the threat of hunger every day. Nine percent of Houston's high school students reported going at least seven days without eating fresh fruit, according to the results of a community wide survey published last year.