In 2014, in an effort to learn more about the struggles of local Wacoans who use the bus system for all their daily needs, two reporters took a trip to two separate HEB’s to find out what it’s like for people who ride the bus. Ten years later, it’s time for an update - a new look into food insecurity in the Waco area, and what local organizations are doing to address it.
"If gas prices or transportation prices have gone up, that's also going to impact your ability to spend money on groceries, right? So, if you live in a food desert and you have to spend a lot of money to be able to get to a community that actually has food, then that's going to impact your ability to be a food secure household," said Jeremy Everett, director of the Baylor Collaborative on Hunger and Poverty.
The organization was originally founded in 2009 as a part of a program called the Texas Hunger Initiative. Everett says the organization's main focus is to “identify and create or cultivate scalable solutions to end hunger."
”How do we get people to grocery stores in a way that they can buy adequate food and not have to go back and forth to the grocery store three times a week, especially if it's an hour or two drive or bus back and forth," Everett said. "So transportation will be critical to how we address healthy food access for our communities that are labeled food deserts."
A study was conducted by Central Texas Food Bank in July 2024, covering Waco’s food access for locals. Waco’s current food insecurity rate is higher than the average central texas city, as well as the average households with no access to a vehicle. In a connected survey central Texans emphasized a lack of public transportation.
"When I first was growing up, here, there were small HEBs scattered throughout, now heb is consolidated - There's only five," Emily Hills, director of Waco Urban Reap said.
Her group helps educate residents on how to grow their own food. But she says the main issue for many Wacoans is that getting to a grocery store in town requires a vehicle.
“And so even though it's convenient for people with cars who can drive and get to a larger space, for those who are maybe limited on transportation, that's a really big problem," she said. "And right now, the 19th street HEB, I think is one of the last relics of that time when there were a variety of smaller grocery stores that were more interspersed throughout.”
But hearing about the bus transportation system isn't enough to get the full picture. So I decided to take a trip from the Waco Bus station, to the closest HEB I could find.
The coin machine wasn’t working so our ride was delayed. When we finally got on the bus, the ride took about 20 minutes to get to the Wooded Acres HEB.
I had gotten my shopping done quickly. Due to the bus rules I was unable to bring anything more than I could carry in my arms. And cold and frozen foods, like meat or milk, were out of the question since they would likely spoil before I made it home.
After waiting at the bus stop for around 30 minutes it finally arrived and I made my way back to the car station. But, my apartment was still a 30 minute walk. I had to carry my groceries to a closer location downtown for my brother to pick me up in his Car.
By the time he picked me up, it had been an hour and a half since my original departure.
I was lucky enough to have spare transportation after my bus route had finished. But for most of the residents taking the bus, the only real option is to walk the rest of the way.
Arell Cole has been in Waco since 2002 and uses the bus system for his daily needs. He said the bus system has improved in his time here, but he hopes the Waco Transit system can better serve locals needs.
“I hope they extend it a little bit longer. And hopefully they can find some people that can start working there so they can implement Sunday hours," Cole said.
Since KWBU first looked into this issue in 2014, many local groups, research organizations and government programs have been created. But there are still changes needed to address this issue.