N. Texas Food Bank, Tarrant Area Food Bank Hit Major Milestones

CHICAGO, July 20 /U.S. Newswire/ — Two Dallas area food banks, part of the America’s Second Harvest national network of food banks and food rescue organizations, have surpassed grocery distribution to local agencies who directly feed hungry people in the Dallas metro area.

The North Texas Food Bank distributed a record 32 million pounds of grocery product in the last 12 months, an increase of more than 14 percent over the last fiscal year. The Tarrant Area Food Bank distributed a record 17 million pounds of grocery product, an increase of more than 2 percent over the previous period last year. Together, these Food Banks serve 700 agencies in 25 North Central Texas counties.

"Texas has more hungry families then any other state except one in the country." said Robert Forney, president and CEO of America’s Second Harvest — The Nation’s Food Bank Network. "Dallas and Fort Worth-area residents can be proud of the work of the North Texas Food Bank and the Tarrant Area Food Bank, and should see them as key contributors to the battle against hunger in Texas. These milestones show their effectiveness, but also points to the need for more resources to feed more hungry people." The America’s Second Harvest Network helps the North Texas Food Bank and Tarrant Area Food Bank secure grocery products from major national retailers, manufacturers and the federal government.

"It’s remarkable that these two organizations keep hitting ‘home runs’ in securing food for hungry Texans," said Barbara Anderson, executive director of the Texas Food bank Association. "I applaud their achievements, and offer my thanks to their generous local and national donors."

About the North Texas Food Bank

The North Texas Food Bank TFB procures donated surplus food and transfers it in usable quantities to over 400 nonprofit agencies in 13 North Texas counties including Kids Cafes, after- school programs, residential treatment programs, food pantries, emergency shelters, soup kitchens, senior citizen centers, low- income daycare centers and other social service centers.

Member Agencies are located in Dallas, Denton, Collin, Fannin, Rockwall, Hunt, Grayson, Kaufman, Ellis, Navarro, Lamar, Delta and Hopkins counties that cover 9,400 square miles. Approximately 3 million people live in the North Texas Food Bank’s service area that covers 9,400 square miles. The Center for Public Policy Priorities indicates that approximately 377,600 (13 percent) of the population in the Food Bank’s service area live below the poverty level. More than 164,000 (43 percent) of these are children under 18. Additionally, 46 percent of households with hungry children are considered the "working poor" as at least one adult in the household is employed

Since its founding in 1982, the North Texas Food Bank has distributed more than 300 million pounds of food to local agencies and food pantries. Those organizations distributed food to more than 55,000 families per month, an increase of 20,000 (57 percent) over the past three years, and served more than 540,000 meals/ snacks per month in onsite feeding programs.

About the Tarrant Area Food Bank

The Tarrant Area Food Bank is a regional, nonprofit distributor of surplus, donated food and non-food products, serving agencies in Fort Worth and other communities spread over 13 counties, an area larger than the state of Vermont. The counties served are Bosque, Cooke, Denton, Erath, Hamilton, Hill, Hood, Johnson, Palo Pinto, Parker, Somervell, Tarrant, and Wise.

The organization provides groceries and products to 280 hunger- relief and social service agencies in the Fort Worth/Dallas area of north Texas. In turn, these agencies feed children, the elderly, the severely disabled, victims of AIDS and other chronic diseases, victims of abuse, the working poor and the unemployed.

Assistance is provided in the form of bags of groceries to take home, hot meals served on-site, or snacks served during a group activity. Each month, on average, the food bank and its agencies distributes food to more than 40,000 households and serves almost 550,000 meals and snacks.

America’s Second Harvest — The Nation’s Food Bank Network is the nation’s largest charitable hunger-relief organization with a Network of more than 200 regional member food banks and food – rescue programs serving all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. The America’s Second Harvest Network secures and distributes nearly two billion pounds of donated food and grocery products annually. The America’s Second Harvest Network supports approximately 50,000 local charitable agencies operating more than 94,000 programs including food pantries, soup kitchens, emergency shelters, after-school programs, and Kids Cafes. Last year, the America’s Second Harvest Network provided food assistance to more than 23 million low-income hungry people in the United States, including more than nine million children and nearly three million seniors. For more on America’s Second Harvest, please visit http:// www.secondharvest.org.

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