When Safety Is Found, Hunger Shouldn’t Follow: DeTar Funds Meals for Families Seeking Refuge at Mid-Coast Family Services Crisis Center
3/23/2026
DeTar Steps Up with $15,000 Donation to Keep Meals on the Table at Mid-Coast Crisis Center
When women and children arrive at the Mid-Coast Family Services Crisis Center, they often come with very little — sometimes only the clothes they are wearing. They arrive shaken, exhausted and in need of safety. After the fear and uncertainty of leaving a violent situation, something as simple as a warm meal becomes part of the healing process.
At the Crisis Center, food is more than nourishment. It is comfort. It is dignity. It is stability in a moment when life feels anything but stable.
That is why DeTar Healthcare System is providing $15,000 in 2026 to fully fund meals for residents of the shelter, ensuring that no individual seeking refuge has to worry about where their next meal will come from.
This commitment builds on DeTar’s earlier support. In August 2025, when FEMA funding changes eliminated the shelter’s dedicated food budget, DeTar stepped in immediately with a $5,500 donation to help the organization continue providing meals through the end of the year.
The Mid-Coast Family Services Crisis Center serves men, women and children impacted by family violence, dating violence, stalking and sexual assault. The shelter houses up to 38 residents, though staff frequently convert common areas into sleeping spaces to ensure no one in crisis is turned away. In addition to safe housing, residents receive legal advocacy, counseling, case management, children’s services, clothing, toiletries and access to one of the few onsite pet kennels at a Texas shelter — so survivors never have to choose between their safety and leaving a beloved pet behind.
Inside the shelter, the kitchen operates around the clock to accommodate work schedules, travel and personal needs. Staff make every effort to honor dietary restrictions and personal preferences. In the past 12 months alone, the shelter has served 36,348 meals at an average cost of $2.88 per meal.
According to Brett Jones, chief executive officer of Mid-Coast Family Services, recent funding reductions placed significant strain on the shelter’s ability to provide meals. A $95,859 reduction in state funding following the expiration of COVID-related support, combined with the loss of the FEMA-administered Emergency Food and Shelter Program — which previously provided approximately $10,000 annually for food — created a substantial gap.
“When basic food funding disappeared, the need for meals did not,” Jones said. “Providing three meals a day, snacks and access to a kitchen at all hours is essential to restoring dignity and stability for the people we serve. DeTar’s support — both in 2025 and now in 2026 — ensures we can continue meeting this need without interruption.”
“With basic food assistance at risk, we couldn’t stand by while a fundamental need like a meal was in jeopardy,” said Brett Maxfield, chief executive officer of DeTar Healthcare System. “No one should face hunger while seeking safety and healing. This contribution reflects DeTar’s commitment to caring for the whole person — body and spirit — and supporting our community’s most vulnerable.”
For those who work inside the shelter every day, the impact of meals goes far beyond nutrition.
“With DeTar Healthcare System’s gift restoring our food budget, they are helping us create a sense of normalcy and comfort in what is often the most abnormal and frightening time in our clients’ lives,” said Wendi DuVall, director of shelter services at Mid-Coast Family Services. “A warm meal tells someone, ‘You are safe here. You are cared for here.’”
DuVall explained that residents have full access to the shelter kitchen and are encouraged to prepare favorite comfort meals for themselves and their children.
“When someone comes to us, they’ve lost control over so much,” DuVall said. “Being able to cook their child’s favorite dinner, smell familiar food or share a meal that reminds them of home gives them back a small piece of normal life. Sometimes our kitchen manager will even turn those comfort requests into a dinner for the entire shelter. That’s how we build community and healing around the table.”
Ginny Stafford, community engagement coordinator with Mid-Coast Family Services, echoed gratitude for the continued partnership. “We thank DeTar for their generosity,” Stafford said. “This donation will directly benefit people in our community who truly have nowhere else to turn during their time of crisis.”
The combined support from DeTar in 2025 and 2026 ensures the Crisis Center can continue providing consistent, nutritious meals during one of the most difficult times in residents’ lives.
“We are incredibly grateful that we can offer trauma-informed care in many ways at the Crisis Center,” DuVall said. “The meals we serve, the ingredients and snacks we make available — these are quiet but powerful parts of helping someone begin to heal.”
How You Can Help
The Crisis Center’s needs continue in 2026. Community members, businesses and organizations can make a difference by donating directly to Mid-Coast Family Services. Contributions help cover food costs and other essentials for survivors.
Donations can be made at https://midcoastfamily.org/services/mid-coast-crisis-center/ or by calling (361) 575-7842.
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