Betty Hardy, of Montgomery, removes frozen meat from one of the five freezers at the Montgomery United Methodist Church Food Bank. Hardy is a co-founder of the Montgomery County Food Bank, now in its 25th year, recently had the Food Bank building named in her honor. Photo by David HopperMontgomery resident Betty Joyce Harding was most impressed recently during a presentation at the Montgomery County Food Bank in Conroe.
"They were saying nice things about some nice lady," Hardy said, "and I was just clapping along. The more they talked about her, the more I thought 'boy I'd like to meet her.' At the last minute they named the lady."
When she realized it was her, Hardy's mouth fell open, her knees kind of buckled, and there were a few tears.
The big surprise was that the food bank has named the building after Betty Joyce Hardy.
Hardy, 75, co-founded the food bank 25 years ago.
"She did it from the heart and didn't realize the impact she had made," said Executive Director Doris Golemon. "It's a privilege to know her and work beside her."
Hardy, a native Houstonian, moved to Pasadena after marrying Bob Hardy, with whom she had three children.
The couple moved to Montgomery in 1984.
Hardy said she wanted to do "something," so she volunteered for a crisis phone center, where she listened to people who had all kinds of needs, including food.
Being new to the area, Hardy wasn't sure where, or even if, a food donation center existed.
She asked her neighbor, Marguerite Byrnes, where people could get food.
"She said she didn't know, but she said someone else had also asked her a few weeks earlier," Hardy said. "Next thing you know, we gathered a few people and had a meeting. We didn't even know how to start this thing. We had no money, no building, nothing."
The group decided to set up food pantries in local churches, stocking shelves with beans and rice.
"Oh we thought we were something else," Hardy said. "And we would go to the banks for donations. If we got $25, we thought that was the most wonderful thing in the world. We weren't too proud."
Church volunteers Pastor Nancy Kellond, Ginny Spalding, Blanche Tucker, and Ann Hastings prepare food orders at the Montgomery United Methodist Church Food Bank. The church's food bank is open 4 times a month and hands out food for almost 100 families a week. Photo by David HopperHardy said it wasn't very long before somebody loaned them an old warehouse in which to store the food. It was a 3,500-square foot building at 1300 S. Frasier, where the food bank remained until June 6, 2006, when it moved to its current location, a 10,000-square foot facility at 111 S. 2nd Street.
The real boost came when the small group landed television news coverage, resulting in 14,000 pounds of food.
"We never saw so many cans in our life," Hardy said. "From there, we just grew. Every time some new person came in, they had another idea. They were business people. It wasn't just housewives like I was."
And nobody was allowed to scam the system. Hardy made sure of that.
"Every little can counted and we wanted to get it to the right people," Hardy said. "You could go to one pantry, but not two. They would write down the names of people they gave to. I would take these lists and cross-check them, with nothing but pencil and paper. It would take a couple of weeks."
Betty Hardy, of Montgomery, receives help from Joe Antezack loading small bags of beans at the Montgomery United Methodist Church Food Bank. Hardy is a co-founder of the Montgomery County Food Bank, now in its 25th year, recently had the Food Bank building named in her honor. Photo by David HopperHardy said all the friends she started with have since passed away, including Marguerite Byrnes, who died a few years ago at age 95.
"She was our bookkeeper until she was 92," Hardy said. "She couldn't go to the meetings anymore, so I'd take the books to her."
Hardy still volunteers with the food bank. She enjoys visiting some of the 36 nonprofit agencies the food bank now serves, including the pantry at her home church, Montgomery United Methodist.
"I like to watch the people give the food," Hardy said. "And I like to see them receive the food. I like to see it all."
Meet Montgomery resident Betty Hardy, 75
- Co-founder of the Montgomery County Food Bank, now in its 25th year of service
- The food bank recently named its facility the Betty Joyce Hardy building in her honor
- Native Houstonian
- Mother of three, grandmother of seven, great-grandmother of one
Quick Quote: "It wasn't just housewives like I was."
Fast Fact: Since its founding in 1985, the Montgomery County Food Bank has distributed more than 6.5 million pounds of food
For more information, visit www.montgomerycountyfoodbank.com [1]