Waco's Shepherd's Heart food pantry to merge operations with Central Texas Food Bank

Shepherd's Heart, the local pantry founded in 2010 to fight hunger, will merge with the Central Texas Food Bank to attack food insecurity in a nine-county region.

Talks between the two agencies lasted years, with a deal getting fast-tracked when Shepherd's Heart founder Bob Gager and Central Texas Food Bank President Sari Vatske went skydiving to celebrate Gager's 80th birthday.

"He said they needed a new building, having outgrown the one they're in," Vatske said. "I told him to wait, that we had something in the works."

That something became a 64,000-square-foot complex at 1402 Gholson Road that will serve as a community hub for fighting food insecurity. Scheduled to open June 1, it features an on-site market; a warehouse for rapid food inspection, sorting and distribution; a state-of-the art commercial kitchen to prepare children's meals; a workforce training program; and volunteer opportunities at the center itself and at mobile food pantries around the area.

Vatske said troubling hunger statistics persuaded the Central Texas Food Bank, which is based in Austin, that the nine northernmost counties in its 21-county region needed a hub of its own. Vatske said she and others drove around Waco, looking for a building to be retrofitted, before deciding their best approach would be building something from scratch. With $25 million in pledges on hand, they bought acreage on Gholson Road in 2024 and launched construction last year.

Gager will have an office there, and at least three staffers at Shepherd's Heart will take jobs. Gager said he hopes and believes the dozens of volunteers who have allowed Shepherd's Heart to succeed will make the transition. Vatske said the new facility will employ about 30 people, all from the local area.

Now 81, Gager founded Shepherd's Heart nearly 17 years ago. He said by phone he intends to remain fully involved, has no thoughts of retirement and will oversee outreach programs, including those seeking to place food pantries in more local schools.

"By merging their programs into our operations and opening our new Waco facility, we will build on the impressive foundation they created and increase access to nutritious food while also addressing the root causes of hunger and poverty," Vatske said in a Thursday press release.

Gager called Shepherd's Heart a labor of love in the release, saying "I cannot think of a better place to entrust my legacy of service to this community. I'm excited to continue this mission with the Central Texas Food Bank and continue to serve Waco and the surrounding communities. Together, we will ensure continuity of care for our neighbors."

Vatske said some 610,000 families in its 21-county region suffer food insecurity, including about 17.3% of families in Central Texas Food Bank's southern counties and 21% in the northern counties to be served by the new facility.

Gager said Shepherd's Heart provides food to about 2,800 families each month in McLennan County and beyond, but its sphere of influence grows to about 4,000 families monthly when counting other causes and ministries it supports. It distributes about 300,000 pounds of food in a typical month, according to its website, and topped 130,000 individual client distributions last year.

Gager said Shepherd's Heart has grown steadily since its founding, but had reached its potential. The press release said supporters and volunteers who have long supported Shepherd's Heart will have new opportunities to get involved at the new Waco facility, including supporting mobile pantry distributions and assisting with food sorting, preparation and distribution.

Shepherd's Heart will sell its building on South 26th Street, Gager said, where the nonprofit has been located since late 2021. Originally a ministry of High Point Church, it was previously headquartered on 34th Street near Bosque Boulevard.

"Shepherd's Heart has served the Waco community with compassion and dedication for over a decade, and we're honored to not only continue Bob Gager's legacy of service, but also continue working with him in this new capacity," Vatske said in the release.

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This story was originally published May 17, 2026 at 4:43 AM.