Out of more than 5,500

Houston Food Bank ranked the ninth-best charity in the country with high marksfor accountability

The majestic new Houston Food Bank building, located at 535 Portwall.
Photo via Houston Food Bank
The new warehouse has plenty of space. But then again, the Houston Food Bankserves so many communities that they're going to need it.
Photo via Houston Food Bank/Facebook

Need another reason to support the Houston Food Bank (or turn out for the end of Houston Restaurant Weeks)? Here's a good one: The charity, which distributes food to 18 counties in the Houston area, has been named to Charity Navigator's "10 Top-Notch Charities" list.

Charity Navigator ranks over 5,500 charities nationwide, helping potential donors find groups with strong financial health that use money in an efficient manner. For their "top-notch" list, Charity Navigator culled the list to not only those groups who were most effective financially, but that also met its 17 metrics for accountability and transparency. With a charity score of 69.58 (out of 70) and a four-star rating, Houston Food Bank ranks ninth nationwide.

"Efficient operations are one of the biggest priorities for the Houston Food Bank," president and CEO Brian Greene said in a press release. "Donors, including individuals, corporations and foundations, want to know that their monies are going for the purposes that they were given, and we strive to ensure their confidence. The Houston Food Bank is extremely proud to say that 95 cents of every dollar that is donated to us is used to feed the hungry."

You can find Houston Food Bank's total financial breakdown here. Charity Navigator previously highlighted the strength of Houston's philanthropic organizations in 2010, ranking the city second in the country for healthy and effective charity organizations.

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Farewell, ElRo

Creative Montrose pizzeria will shutter after only a year-and-a-half

Photo by Julie Soefer

ElRo Pizza & Crudo

An acclaimed Houston pizzeria will soon serve its final pies. ElRo Pizza & Crudo will close after service on December 31.

In a post on Instagram, chef-owner Terrence Gallivan thanks his staff for their dedication and his customers for their support. “We hope to see you all over the next couple weeks. Come celebrate with us,” he writes.

Open since June 2023, ElRo intrigued diners who enjoyed Gallivan’s work at pioneering Houston restaurant The Pass & Provisions. At ElRo, the chef served a modified version of the Provisions pizza recipe alongside crudos and shareable small plates such as arancini and housemade sausage. It earned four nominations in this year’s CultureMap Tastemaker Awards, including Best New Restaurant and Chef of the Year.

Sadly, Gallivan tells CultureMap that business has seen “a steady decline in business for many months.” Recently, the restaurant had tried a number of initiatives to draw in diners, such as steak night on Tuesday and fried chicken on Saturday.

The early announcement gives diners two weeks to make one more visit (or two) to the restaurant before it closes. Customers may want to time their visit for happy hour, which takes places from 3-6 pm Tuesday-Friday. It includes half-off glasses of wine, $4 draft beers, $9 select cocktails, and food specials.

Gallivan adds that he doesn’t know yet what his next move will be. Hopefully, he’s got one more comeback in him. Houston is a more fun town to dine in when Gallivan is cooking in it.

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