Food bank launches 5-year plan to combat food insecurity in North Texas
The Brief
The North Texas Food Bank has launched a five-year "Fulfilling Futures" initiative.
The plan aims to move beyond food distribution to address the root causes of hunger through programs like Food RX and support services.
Nearly 774,000 people in North Texas, including one in five children, are food insecure, a situation worsened by rising rent and grocery costs.
DALLAS - The North Texas Food Bank has unveiled a plan to combat hunger at its roots and build self-sufficient communities in North Texas.
What we know
On Friday, the NTFB launched a new, five-year initiative called Fulfilling Futures, designed to go beyond feeding to fueling long-term wellbeing across the region.
"This includes optimizing our supply chain, really leaning into some warehouse management systems we have, really track that food and get it out efficiently to our community," said Trisha Cunningham, the nonprofit's president and CEO.
The plan also includes growing NTFB's Food RX program, partnering with at least 50 medical clinics in the next five years, and increasing investments in those partners who are offering wrap-around services such as career training, financial coaching, and health care.
What you can do
"We cannot do this work alone, especially as we look towards the future," Cunningham said. "So we want the community to continue to join us to donate, volunteer, and advocate for those strong anti-hunger policies."
By the numbers
Over the past five years, the NTFB has doubled its meal distribution.
"People are really surprised by that because all of the economic growth in our community. But we still have the eighth highest number of people who are food insecure," Cunningham said.
Approximately 774,000 people in North Texas, including one in five children, experience food insecurity.
"We know that inflation has led food insecurity at the zip code level and it's very difficult for some of these people who are food insecure to make these tough choices," she said.
Cunningham pointed to a Zillow study that found rent in Dallas has gone up by 30% over the past five years. Groceries also went up by 22% during that time, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
"Do I pay for my rent, my groceries, my medicine? Because they have these fixed costs that they have to meet. But then what gives? So, that's why we're seeing more people coming to us for access to that," she said.
The Source
The North Texas Food Bank held a news conference on Friday to announce details in this story.
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