The Houston Food Bank distributes over 158 million meals every year to people struggling with hunger. With the help of more than 1,600 community partners to combat hunger and food insecurity, the Houston Food Bank provides individuals with food assistance as well as programs and services targeted at achieving long-term food stability.
According to the Houston Food Bank, around 1 million people in southeast Texas are food insecure – 1 in 7 people face hunger as well as 1 in 5 children. Following the pandemic, food insecurity and unemployment increased dramatically. 53 million people sought assistance from food banks and neighborhood programs in 2021 to put food on their table.
To help manage energy costs, the Houston Food Bank is partnering with Viking Cold Solutions and plans to install Thermal Energy Storage (TES) technology in their temperature-controlled facilities. TES systems are a cost-effective way to store and manage the large amounts of energy required by refrigeration equipment in cold storage facilities.
Developed and patented by Viking Cold, the TES system will reduce electrical consumption and demand during peak energy usage hours inside the Houston Food Bank’s cold storage warehouse and will improve temperature stability inside their freezer. Cold storage facilities, such as frozen food warehouses, have the highest energy demand per cubic foot of any building. During peak energy use periods, they can account for up to 70 percent of the total electricity bill for organizations.
The TES system’s energy savings will enable the Houston Food Bank to offer thousands of additional meals every year and feed more people. Viking Cold’s partnership will help the Houston Food Bank better manage its energy usage by providing cutting-edge technology that will benefit the organization and support its mission for many years to come.
