As we pause this May to observe Mental Health Awareness Month, partnerships like the one between the Heart of Texas Behavioral Health Network and the Central Texas Food Bank (CTFB) highlight how access to nutritious food can support overall health and stability.
The Heart of Texas Behavioral Health Network provides accessible, compassionate services to individuals and families coping with mental illness, intellectual and developmental disabilities, developmental delays and emotional challenges.
The organization, who has been a CTFB partner agency since 2020, has integrated food support into its care model, recognizing that nourishment is a critical part of stability and recovery.
Food That Supports Families
"It helps because you don't have to worry so much. It takes off a little bit of weight. Yes, it's not easy, but it takes off a lot of weight."
Mother of two, Rachel, receives both mental health services and food support through Heart of Texas Behavioral Health Network. As a client, she is assigned a caseworker who delivers food straight to her door.
"For me, it's perfect because I don't have to worry about a car. I don't have to worry about figuring out transportation and all that."
She receives food boxes that contain a variety of fresh and shelf-stable items that help keep her household nourished while also accommodating the dietary restrictions of one of her daughters who has diabetes.
With grocery prices continuing to rise, the extra support helps free up money for other essential expenses.
"At least I have those extra dollars for the meat that I should have been spending on, for the vegetables,” said Rachel. “That can go into a light bill, a water bill, the rent payment, or even the gas for the car."
Rachel says her children have turned the deliveries into something positive for the whole family. One daughter enjoys planning meals around the food they receive; another likes to experiment with new foods.
"It's like I tell them, we're down right now, but the only thing to do is to go up. And once they go up, at least they'll learn how to appreciate the sense of, hey, you know what, we're at a better place."
Addressing Hunger and Mental Health Together
As the Food and Donation Coordinator, Misty Casares oversees the process of preparing and distributing food boxes for neighbors receiving behavioral health services across six counties. Each food box is carefully assembled with families in mind.
This integrated model means neighbors can focus on their care without worrying about where their next meal will come from.
"If you're focusing on your mental health and you need to go see your doctors, you don't want to be worried about, ‘am I going to get to eat lunch today?’,” she said. "There is a correlation between mental health and being hungry. So, if we can provide food, then we can help ease some of that anxiety about being hungry and not having anything to eat. I think that helps a lot.”
Casares has worked diligently to increase their impact, giving out more than 136,000 pounds of food, serving over 2,200 households and more than 6,300 individuals in 2025. Recently, the agency joined CTFB’s Agency Retail Pick-up program, helping to rescue food from retailers in the area to add to the variety of food offered to their clients.
“I get a little bit of endorphins when I get my box, like seeing what's all in there, you know, that's help. Happiness helps,” said Casares. “It's good stuff. And then you also get to eat.”
Care That Goes Above and Beyond
Rachel says the compassion shown by her Heart of Texas caseworker often goes beyond what she ever expected. Knowing the family keeps pigs as pets, the caseworker sometimes brings along extra vegetables or food that cannot be distributed through the pantry so the animals can be fed as well. For Rachel, it’s a small act that speaks volumes about how much the staff truly care.
"I tell [my daughter] all the time, I go, we got to leave it in God's hands. And she goes, ‘You see, God provides,’ so you don't have to worry about it now."
Supporting Health, Stability and Hope
By bringing food access into behavioral health services, Heart of Texas Behavioral Health Network and the Central Texas Food Bank are helping neighbors focus on healing, stability and brighter days ahead.
For families like Rachel’s, that support means one less worry — and a reminder that their community is standing beside them.
"I just wanted to say thank you to the care center and the caseworkers, because if it wasn't for them and how much they care for their clients and all that I wouldn't even be here and I wouldn't even know anything about it,” said Rachel. “I appreciate the donors and all that because they do help in situations where they might not show, but it does help."
