H-E-B to the rescue

Beloved Texas grocery giant rolls in to aid Houston charity after food bank disaster

The Houston Food Bank is in desperate need after losing 1.8 million pounds of products.

Photo courtesy of Houston Food Bank

The Houston Food Bank is getting a helping hand from H-E-B after an ammonia leak contaminated 1.8 million pounds of products last week.

"H-E-B has committed to replenishing the food bank's now empty refrigerators following this week's ammonia leak," the supermarket chain wrote in a press release.

The popular food retailer will be delivering trailer loads of produce, meat and other products to the food bank. In addition, they will organize its partners for a volunteer event to help get the food bank back to its full capacity. They are also encouraging other companies to help support the food bank.

The food bank works to help the 1.1 million people struggling with food insecurity in 18 counties, but because of the contamination, Houston Food Bank president, Brian Greene, says it caused a disruption to serve partners.

"We have about 28,000, square feet of refrigerated space in addition to the frozen space, and one of the refrigerators, the fan caved into the actual unit itself and caused an ammonia leak," Greene told CultureMap news partner, ABC13.

United Airlines has also stepped up to help, as they are matching up to $100,000 in donations. If you donate $50 or more, you can receive up to 1,000 award miles.

You can learn more about how to donate your time, food or money here. Greene estimates the loss was worth $2.7 million.

"The best way that people can help us is volunteering because what we do is we go out and get donations from literally all over the country," Greene said. "So much of this product requires work and it's our ability to say yes to the donations to labor that we can use to replace this."

ABC13 and the Houston Food Bank are also teaming up for the 39th annual ABC13's Share Your Holidays Food Drive.

Show your holiday spirit by donating food in a red barrel at your local grocery store from November 23 to December 6. Locals can also drop off food during the live broadcast on December 6 at the ABC13 station located at 3310 Bissonnet St.

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For more on this story, including video, visit our content partner ABC13.

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Thanks, Queen Bey

Pop icon Beyoncé donates $100,000 to University of Houston Law School

Photo by Erza Shaw Getty Images

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Pop megastar Beyoncé Knowles-Carter has donated $100,000 to the University of Houston Law Center Criminal Justice Clinic through her BeyGOOD Foundation. The gift will allow the clinic to hire fill-time faculty to head it, benefiting the students who study there.

“I am delighted that the BeyGOOD Foundation has made this very generous gift to the UH Law Center,” said Leonard Baynes, dean of the UH Law Center. “Not only will this funding help establish a full-time criminal justice clinic that provides pro bono legal services in our community, but it will also supercharge our already excellent criminal law and justice programming.”

The clinic is one of nine at UHLC. It helps students learn to navigate the criminal justice system, especially on behalf of clients that are underserved by skilled attorneys. People of color are affected disproportionately by a lack of good, ethical representation.

Beyoncé, the most decorated artist in Grammy history and easily the biggest musical star native to Houston, has a long history of advocating for criminal justice reform. She was a staunch supporter of the police reform following the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, asking law enforcement to “stop killing us” in a web post. In 2020, she penned an open letter to the Kentucky attorney general asking for justice in the death of Breonna Taylor.

Through her BeyGOOD Foundation, established in 2013, Beyoncé has focused mostly on expanding the prospects of Black-owned business and offering education opportunities to students. Forwarding the cause of legal representation in Texas while also helping out marginalized communities compliments her other philanthropic work.

“At UH Law, we envision a legal profession where ‘everyone has the opportunity to prosper,’ as BeyGOOD envisions, and we will achieve this vision by providing access to strong and effective legal representation in criminal proceedings,” Baynes said. “And together, through this gift, the BeyGOOD Foundation and UHLC will shepherd the next generation of criminal justice attorneys in the city of Houston, the state of Texas and the nation.”