HEB director helps lead Feast of Sharing effort

He started working at an HEB grocery store in his hometown of Kingsville in 1986. Now, 26 years later, Garcia is the store director at the HEB on Braeswood Boulevard and co-chairman of the HEB Feast of Sharing holiday dinner.

"I'm pretty proud of my 26 years with HEB," he said. "HEB is my second family. Our culture at H-E-B, it really represents what we do with Feast of Sharing."

The annual HEB Feast of Sharing holiday event provides more than 7,600 meals to underprivileged individuals and families in the greater Houston area. The holiday dinner is usually held at the George R. Brown Convention Center, but this year, HEB decided on a more grassroots approach – hosting several smaller dinners at various community organizations throughout Houston.

Garcia's store, which sells more kosher products by volume than any other store in the HEB family, hosted a Feast of Sharing dinner at the Evelyn Rubenstein Jewish Community Center. They also participated in the center's Meals on Wheels program, delivering delicious holiday meals to community members in need. Due to the success of this year's Feast of Sharing, Garcia says he expects that HEB will continue its new tradition of hosting the holiday meal events at various community centers in the area, rather than at one centralized location.

"It's just a win-win for everybody, just to be able to contribute to as many folks as we can within as many communities as we can," he said.

When he's not working in his role as HEB store director or volunteering in the community, Garcia enjoys spending time with his wife of 20 years, Yadira, and 15-year-old daughter, Brianna. He's also an avid sports fan with a special passion for the Houston Rockets and the Houston Astros.

"I am a really big Houston sports fan," Garcia said. "I've been a season ticketholder since day one."

For more information on the annual HEB Feast of Sharing, visit www.heb.com/page/about-us/community/events/feast-of-sharing. You can also connect with HEB on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Pinterest.

ABOUT Joey Garcia
AGE: 43
OCCUPATION: HEB store director
COMMUNITY CONNECTION: Katy resident
FAST FACT: Garcia loves classic rock music from the '80s and lists Rush, Van Halen, Def Leppard and Kiss among his favorite bands

Megan Mattingly-Arthur is a freelance writer. She can be reached at neighborhoods@chron.com.