Customers at Galveston’s Own Farmers Market (GOFM) include many older customers and tourists. Therefore, in the fallout of COVID-19, we thought the most responsible act was to suspend the open-air market to keep patrons safe. We developed a seamless online shopping experience for consumers that enabled our vendors to keep a vital source of revenue and also connect folks to food. We re-opened the open-air market on October 4th, 2020, and have kept GOFM To-Go operational as well; it is used largely by customers who want the safest, contact-free experience.

At the onset of the pandemic, in March 2020, our local schools closed and we saw the need for food among area families begin to skyrocket. Both our Real Food Project (RFP) and Young Gardeners Program (YGP) immediately adapted to serve a food-insecure community. YGP pivoted our gardens towards maximum production, providing weekly harvest boxes to 20 families from April to July, with many vegetable options. In addition, YGP began producing a weekly YouTube video series called "Storytime with YGP" to connect with our students and provide valuable learning opportunities while they remained at home. Our RFP suspended its in-person cooking classes and dinners early on in the pandemic and developed the FreshBox program which provides fresh whole foods to families with school-age children experiencing food insecurity. For 24 weeks, 35 families received a weekly ($30-$40 retail value) box of proteins, vegetables, and bread, with bilingual recipes, delivered to their doorstep.

Additionally, we created a YouTube video series called "Quick Bites" – short tutorials designed to teach simple tips about a vegetable or market ingredient supplementing the FreshBox deliveries. The tutorials are also available to the public. We began making these when, in our weekly communications with the FreshBox families, we learned that many of them were intimidated by the fresh carrots with green tops. "What do I do with them?" was a refrain we heard more than once, and so we got to work showing folks easy and accessible recipe ideas!

In September, we held a successful delivery version of our annual fundraising party, OkraFest. In partnership with local businesses, we delivered to patrons a menu of dishes from three local restaurants, including cocktails and beers from local bars and breweries. We produced 5 hours of original live-streamed programming featuring local foodways history, live music from local musicians, cooking demonstrations, farm tours, silent auctions, and other activities. In all of our work, we've aimed to operate with integrity, connecting people to good food, education and community. The shape and form of all of our programming transformed in response to COVID-19, but the need and desire for GOFM has only strengthened.

Galveston Urban Ministries (GUM) is a relationship-based nonprofit working to alleviate poverty in Galveston by empowering the poor and marginalized through asset-based Christian Community Development. We build holistic relationships to transform the community. Nearly one in four Galveston residents live in poverty, which is double the national rate.

Galveston Urban Ministries' families live in generational poverty. Many of their fathers, brothers and sons have been (or are currently) incarcerated. Most of the children in our neighborhood are being raised by a single mother or grandmother. Many of the families we work with live in the Sandpiper Cove apartments, a subsidized housing development characterized by the Galveston Daily News as "Galveston's most notorious apartment complex," and considered by the Galveston Police Department to be "the bane of our existence."

Shortly after the COVID-19 lock-down began in March 2020, we noticed an increase in vandalism, graffiti and police calls in our neighborhood. To give our kids an outlet for their emotions, we resumed our Youth Art Collective to immerse our at-risk youth in the world of photography. In partnership with the Galveston Arts Center, we hosted a summer Art Camp where kids designed and published a magazine called "What They Don't See." The title came from students' desires to counter the negative stereotypes they hear about their neighborhood and themselves. One young photographer stated, "They think we're all thieves and hoodlums. We want to show them that we're more than that."

With cameras in hand, our kids walked the streets of their marginalized neighborhood tking pictures. Kids participated in Zoom courses led by professional photographers to learn more about photography and how to edit their photos. Youth spent days and weeks focused on expressing their feelings through their photos. Having a positive outlet kept our kids out of trouble, and the experience instilled in them confidence, resilience, and hope. Photos from our "What They Don't See" project were featured in the magazine of the same name. The magazine was distributed throughout Galveston and beyond and also published online.

Bacilio “Boss” Valdez is one of our most successful student photographers. As he's known to his friends, Boss is passionate about photography. As a member of GUM's Youth Art Collective, Boss spends his free time looking at life from behind the lens. "I'm always thinking about the story behind the photo," shares Boss. "I think about how my pictures might change someone's ideas about our neighborhood." The 10th grader credits GUM and the Youth Art Collective with giving him a better life, keeping him out of trouble and sparking his interest in a photography career. "GUM gave me a huge opportunity," Boss says. "It's a place where I've made life-long friends. I consider GUM my family." Boss recently turned his passion into a small business; he has been hired by several families to capture important events and he looks forward to expanding his business after the pandemic. Now, he is getting paid to do what he loves! Boss’ experience illuminates the transformative power of building healthy, supportive relationships, nurturing creativity, and instilling resilience.

The Galveston Independent School District (GISD) is a public school district in Texas. It was established in 1884 and serves nearly 7,000 students. Its 12 Schools of Choice campuses consist of traditional and theme-based schools, charter schools, STEM programs, magnet schools, and a mega-magnet high school. The district’s mission is to Educate, Engage and Empower each student for a life of Excellence. 

On March 23, 2021, all Galveston ISD staff members became eligible to receive the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine at on-campus Teen Health Centers, as well as students 18+ years old with medical conditions. "Many of our staff members have already received the vaccine but this will ensure that all teachers and other campus employees have convenient access," says Teen Health Center Executive Director Angie Brown. "We'll visit all campuses and then plans are to offer our Teen Health Center sites as distribution clinics for the public."

The Montgomery County Master Gardener Association (MCMGA) is part of the Texas Master Gardener Association an educational volunteer program conducted by Texas AgriLife Extension Service of the Texas A&M University System. Master Gardeners are members of their local communities and set apart from other gardeners by their special training in horticulture.  In exchange for training, Master Gardeners contribute time as volunteers. Working through their local extension office, they provide horticultural-related information to their communities.

MCMGA is based at the AgriLife Extension Office in Conroe Texas, a county facility, with a variety of display gardens, two propagating greenhouses, aquaponics and composting systems. Plant sales are the primary source of funding alongside both internal and community education programs. The 350+ members are mostly older retired folks and found themselves facing challenges in how to pivot in the face of pandemic restrictions. When the stay-at-home order was issued, members were forced to stop regular Wednesday morning activities at MCMGA and find a way to maintain gardens, programs, and fundraising efforts.

Once members were allowed back at the facility, a COVID-friendly scheduled was developed so that gardens and areas could still be maintained. A limited numbers of permitted members allowed those who were comfortable at the facility to maintain social distancing.  Break time announcements went online with the addition of pictures of MGMGA gardens so members could to stay in touch. Outreach education activities were achieved by creating videos and virtual radio programs, and by sharing existing presentations via Zoom and Teams meetings.

Plant sales also evolved. Moving away from in-person sales, we began to conduct sales via the online platform, SignUpGenius.com, that allows members to show the plants for sale by type (sunny floral, native, and shade) and with growing information (sun/shade, water and size). All plants are distributed in a drive-thru fashion with buyers never leaving their cars.  People certainly miss the public interaction, but the system is working well. Members have strived to be resilient where necessary during this time to continue MGCMA’s mission. MCMGA members are anxious to expand the goal of educating the public, training new master gardeners, working in schools, gathering on Wednesday mornings, and working in the gardens together. Until that time comes, members will continue to be fluid and modify where necessary.

Comanche County in central Texas is seventy miles southeast of Abilene. Comanche County is comprised of the municipalities of Comanche (the County seat) population 4,335; De Leon, population 2,246; and Gustine, population 476. Other major communities include Sidney, Proctor, Hasse, Beattie, Newburg, and Energy. Comanche County is a strong, peaceful, and relatively quiet rural county. It can now add “resilient” to that list.

Teamwork and communication were crucial to Comanche County’s success in contending with the COVID-19 pandemic. In March 2020, County Judge Davis assembled a County-wide team and began regular COVID-19 response briefings to Public Health Authorities, elected officials, administrators of long-term health facilities, law enforcement, and all school superintendents. In the beginning of the pandemic, daily meetings were held to discuss and strategize a unified response by the County to take care of the public health and safety of its residents.

During these meetings, participants provide updates on the most up-to-date COVID-19 information, including state and federal regulation changes and testing and vaccine delivery schedules. The County’s Emergency Management Coordinator plays a crucial role in roundtable discussions where challenges are discussed and resolved, resources are shared and frustrations are given venting space. The  team has endured all aspects of this pandemic together—figuring out how to safely and effectively test residents, managing business and school shutdowns, navigating numerous Governor’s Orders, spikes in case loads, deaths of residents, strains on medical infrastructures, and the latest challenge: vaccine distribution.