USDA Clean Room Addition at Houston Food Bank

Cole Hranicky is studying for a BBA in finance at Texas Tech University. A supporter of his community, Cole Hranicky has volunteered for several organizations, including the Houston Food Bank.

Serving over a million people in southeast Texas, Houston Food Bank provides food and other essentials to individuals and families who are food insecure. Continually working to expand its operations, the organization partnered with Cargill and Feeding America to add a new USDA clean room to its space in February 2020.

The new food processing space is monitored and inspected by the Food Safety and Inspection Service from the USDA. The room enables the food bank to receive large cartons of protein and convert them to retail-sized amounts for distribution.

The addition of the clean room will improve Houston Food Bank’s ability to process protein safely while reducing waste. On average, a 30-foot by 40-foot clean room can help a food bank prepare 300,000 pounds of protein each year.