El Pasoans Fighting Hunger Food Bank will shut its doors on Friday, Sept. 25, after severe weather tore into its office and warehouse, collapsing part of the ceiling and flooding the building with leaks. The closure comes just three days after the food bank was forced to end services early for the first time in several years, a sign of how serious the damage has become for an organization that feeds thousands of Borderland households every week.
Ceiling Collapse and Flooding Force an Early Shutdown
According to KTSM 9 News, storm damage caused a portion of the ceiling at the food bank's headquarters at 9541 Plaza Circle to give way, while multiple water leaks spread throughout the office. Volunteers and staff scrambled to catch the water with buckets as the building took on damage, the station reports. Rain also damaged two canopies that normally provide shade for residents waiting in line for food, adding another obstacle for an operation that already runs on tight resources.
The station's report notes that El Pasoans Fighting Hunger ended its services early on Tuesday, Sept. 22, marking the first time in several years the organization has had to cut short a distribution day. Lonnie Valencia, director of communications for El Pasoans Fighting Hunger, said the closure reflects the severity of the damage and the need to protect neighbors, volunteers and staff, per the same account.
'Hunger Does Not Wait for the Weather to Clear'
Valencia described the closure as a heartbreaking interruption and said neighbors should not travel to the food bank on Friday, according to the station's reporting. “Hunger does not wait for the weather to clear,” Valencia said, underscoring how central serving the public is to the organization's mission even as it deals with a battered facility.
The stakes of even a single day's closure are steep. El Pasoans Fighting Hunger says on its own site that it serves over 1,000 families daily through its on-site Mercado, sometimes reaching up to 1,500 in a single day, according to El Pasoans Fighting Hunger. The organization also distributes food and prepares boxes for families across El Paso, Hudspeth and Culberson counties through its partner network, providing food distribution to homes across the Borderland well beyond its Plaza Circle site.
A Safety Net Already Stretched Thin
The storm damage lands at a moment when the food bank has been cutting back its hours and services as donations and funding continue dropping, according to El Paso Matters. The outlet reported that El Paso County SNAP enrollment dropped by more than 8,700 households, or 13%, in May compared with the same month a year earlier, with nearly 58,800 households receiving SNAP payments that month — the lowest number in recent years. El Paso Matters also reported that work requirements for able-bodied adults expanded beginning in February 2026 to include adults up to age 65 and parents of children age 14 and older.
Those enrollment declines mean more households are depending on help from El Pasoans Fighting Hunger even as the organization contends with fewer resources and now a damaged facility. The food bank has previously worked with community partners to widen access to food assistance; El Paso Community College, for instance, released a 2026 schedule for mobile food pantries at its Mission del Paso, Valle Verde, Transmountain and Rio Grande campuses in partnership with the food bank, according to CBS4 Local, with food available at those pop-up pantries until supplies lasted.
