“Broken Bread: Examining Senior Food Insecurity in the Texas Panhandle” is a three-part series covering the causes, regional disparities, and diverse impacts of food insecurity among older adults and seniors in the area. As the local population ages, more seniors are struggling to access nutritious food, often facing this crisis without adequate resources or support. Through personal stories, expert insights, and local solutions, this series sheds light on both the challenges and opportunities within our broken food access system.
The series explores the major drivers of food insecurity among older adults, including rising costs, limited mobility, and fragmented support systems. It also highlights the growing need among adults aged 50-59, the fastest-growing age group facing food insecurity.
Food insecurity is a particularly challenging issue in many of the smaller, rural communities in the Texas Panhandle, where grocery stores and assistance programs are many miles away. “Broken Bread” spotlights the decline in local resources and the impact on longtime residents in need. The series also explores the deep connection between nutrition and both physical and mental health, exposing the impact of rising medical costs and limited healthcare access on food security.
Despite the many complex problems in the fight against food insecurity, local organizations are working to end this issue. From food pantries designed with older adults in mind to community-driven partnerships bridging service gaps, the final chapter of “Broken Bread” highlights the people and organizations working to ensure that no senior in the Texas Panhandle goes to bed hungry.
“Broken Bread: Examining Senior Food Insecurity in the Texas Panhandle,” premiered on April 3, 2025 on Panhandle PBS and the Panhandle PBS YouTube Channel. Following the series premiere, Panhandle PBS will continue a multifaceted media effort through 2025 including animated content, video diaries and more.
For Panhandle PBS's digital animated series "Gammy Jo!" which is inspired by "Broken Bread," click HERE.
Support for “Broken Bread: Examining Senior Food Insecurity in the Texas Panhandle” is provided by the Mary E. Bivins Foundation.
If you or someone you know is in need of food insecurity resources, please visit https://www.seniorhungersolutions.org/
Full Episodes
Uncover the major drivers of food insecurity among older adults, including rising costs, limited mobility, and fragmented support systems. Interviews with seniors, advocates and researchers reveal how food insecurity affects not only nutrition but also dignity and well-being among those in need.
This episode takes viewers to rural towns of the Texas Panhandle. With grocery stores and assistance programs many miles away, this chapter examines the unique challenges rural seniors face in accessing food. It spotlights the decline in local resources and its impact on longtime residents in need. This chapter also explores the deep connection between nutrition and both physical and mental health, exposing the impact of rising medical costs and limited healthcare access on food security.
This chapter shifts focus to innovative solutions, from food pantries designed with older adults in mind to community-driven partnerships bridging service gaps. This chapter highlights the people and organizations working to ensure that no senior in the Texas Panhandle goes to bed hungry. Through these initiatives, we explore how local solutions can inspire long-term changes across different generations of residents.
Upcoming Events
Virtual Screening Event
Tuesday, April 21 - 4 p.m.
YouTube
Join the Mary E. Bivins Foundation and Panhandle PBS for a virtual film screening around the new episode of Broken Bread: Examining Senior Food Insecurity in the Texas Panhandle online at 4:00 p.m. Tuesday, April 21. As April is Senior Hunger Awareness Month, this free event aims to bring greater attention to the issue - often hidden in plain sight - as well as spotlight local organizations working to end hunger among seniors and older adults across the Texas Panhandle.
Chapter Four: Hunger Relief in Action, a Panhandle PBS production, will be shared in this live YouTube film screening that viewers can access by visiting the Panhandle PBS YouTube channel at youtube.com/panhandlepbs on their computer, tablet, or mobile device. As it is a standalone episode, participants do not need to have seen the first three chapters to take part.
Any and all are welcome to attend this free event without advance registration including the general public, those interested in volunteering with nonprofit food pantries and other food security organizations, food security workers, social workers, senior care providers, mental health professionals, high school/college/graduate students, and university faculty/staff. Through event engagement, one screening participant will have an opportunity to direct $500 from the Mary E. Bivins Foundation to a food security focused nonprofit in the Texas Panhandle.
This final 30-minute episode in the Broken Bread series examines our local food network, the challenges the region faces, and how organizations are adapting for positive change. The first three chapters of Broken Bread are viewable on the station’s YouTube channel at youtube.com/panhandlepbs under the Broken Bread playlist along with animated content for younger audiences.
For more information on the event and the series, contact Panhandle PBS at 806-371-5479 or visit panhandlepbs.org/BrokenBread. For more senior food security resources and information from the Mary E. Bivins Foundation visit seniorhungersolutions.org or call 806-379-9400.
Broken Bread: Examining Senior Food Insecurity in the Texas Panhandle and this event are made possible by the Mary E. Bivins Foundation.
Past Events
Preview Screening
Thursday, March 27 – 6:15 to 7:15 p.m.
1300 Coulter St., Amarillo, TX
As part of the Mary E. Bivins Foundation's Senior Food Security Forum, Panhandle PBS will host a preview screening and panel discussion on the upcoming series. This free event will be Thursday, March 27 from 6:15-7:15 p.m. at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center Jerry H. Hodge School of Pharmacy in the Sybil B. Harrington Lecture Center at 1300 Coulter St. in Amarillo. For more information, call the Mary E. Bivins Foundation at (806)369-9400 or Panhandle PBS at (806)371-5479.
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