Latest news with #TarrantAreaFoodBank
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Tarrant Area Food Bank fights hunger amid historic SNAP cut proposals
The Brief The Tarrant Area Food Bank is partnering with local farmers for a summer market, providing fresh produce to the community. These efforts come as proposed federal cuts could reduce SNAP benefits by an estimated $300 billion through 2034, which would be the largest cut to the program in history. If adopted, the cuts would significantly increase demand on local food banks, which are already seeing high need. FORT WORTH, Texas - The Tarrant Area Food Bank started a summer partnership to provide access to fresh produce. Now more than ever, the food bank is concerned about proposed cuts to federal benefits and the possible impact on North Texans. Local perspective Several local growers are at the farmers' market with freshly grown produce. It's the Tarrant Area Food Bank's way of supporting these small farmers and providing healthy food to the community. It comes at a time when there could be major changes at the federal level as it applies to the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program or SNAP benefits. The food bank earlier today hosted a virtual discussion about the congressional developments playing out. They pointed out that in the house-passed version of the current bill, it would reflect a $300 billion cut to the SNAP program through 2034. What they're saying The CEO of the Tarrant Area Food Bank, Julie Butner, believes the federal cuts to SNAP, if adopted, would make efforts like this farmers market and other food bank programs extremely crucial in meeting the needs of consumers and snap program recipients. "The federal reductions in SNAP benefits that have been proposed, and today are with the Senate, are quite concerning, because when these neighbors lose the SNAP benefit. If it is cut, then naturally they will be turning to the local food bank, the Tarrant Area Food Bank and our 500 partner agencies to fill the gap," said Butner. Feeding Texas is a statewide network of food banks leading a unified effort to end hunger in Texas. Feeding Texas' Vice President of Policy and Advocacy, Jami Olson, states this would be the largest cut to SNAP in history. "It represents a 30 percent cut to our nation's most important and effective anti-hunger program. If this bill is enacted it would represent the largest cut to SNAP in our nation's history," said Olson. What's next As of early June 2025, the federal cuts are still proposed cuts moving through the legislative process. The Source Information in this article was provided by the Tarrant Area Food Bank and Feeding Texas representatives.
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
How drones, self-driving robots could help with food insecurity in Arlington
The city of Arlington held a demonstration Wednesday, May 14, for a project to integrate technology with the local food bank to improve delivery of food to people with mobility challenges. The city of Arlington and its partners showed electric and autonomous air and ground vehicles at Julia Burgen Park playground at 1009 Ruby St. They will be used to test the delivery of about 150 boxes of nonperishable food to Arlington households this week. The event showcased adjustments for the Multimodal Delivery pilot program, a two-year project funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to test and evaluate the use of no-emission or low-emission uncrewed aircraft and ground robots to deliver food to individuals who are underserved. New data released by Feeding America's Map the Meal Gap, shows Texas surpassed California as the most food insecure state in the country with 5.4 million people who are food insecure. Tarrant County has the 12th largest food insecure population in the country with 337,350 people experiencing food insecurity, the data shows. The increase in population in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex and inflation have hurt working class families, as has inaccessibility in rural communities, said Stephen Raeside, chief external affairs officer of Tarrant Area Food Bank. The Tarrant Area Food Bank serves 13 counties, which take in 10,000 square miles, and delivers 1.5 million meals a week with only 140 employees, creating a logistical challenge, Raeside said. 'We have to be very efficient, adaptable, nimble, and we think delivery through autonomous vehicles could be part of that formula to distribute even more food,' Raeside said. The project started in October 2023 with a $780,000 grant, with the first year used for planning and preparation. The first demonstration was held in September 2024, and information gained from that was used to revise and expand on the demonstration held Wednesday morning. The city and its partners will use the information learned from this week's demonstration to analyze and report on the lessons they learned later this year. There is no immediate plan to fully launch the project in the future. 'One of our goals at the city is that, by testing these types of things and doing these demonstrations, we give people the opportunity to learn about how the technology works, hopefully feel more comfortable with it, and then, as it grows and expands, there's more opportunities for everyone,' said Ann Foss, transportation planning and programming manager for the city of Arlington. Other partners, including the North Central Texas Council of Governments, helped with community engagement and outreach and more technical aspects, such as energy and cost analysis. UT Arlington has helped with community engagement and outreach, and faculty and students from the engineering department have helped with the technical aspects of the project. Airspace Link is a software and management company that helped create a system for communication and tracking. Other partnerships include the drone delivery company Aerialoop, which provides the aircraft, and Mozee, a Dallas-based autonomous vehicle manufacturer, which provides the ground robot. Shawn Taikratoke, CEO of Mozee, said mobility equals freedom, and the company wanted to help people dealing with food insecurity because of transportation issues. 'Roughly half of America has no access to mass transit, as of right now, and so being able to bridge that gap is a big deal for us,' Taikratoke said.
Yahoo
26-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'Empty Bowls' event supports Tarrant Area Food Bank
The Brief TAFB's "Empty Bowls" event brought together local chefs and artists to help raise money for the food bank. It happened on Friday at the Will Rogers Memorial Center. This year's event was sold out. FORT WORTH, Texas - The Tarrant Area Food Bank hosted its signature fundraising event on Friday. What we know The 23rd annual "Empty Bowls" event brought local artists and the restaurant community together to support families facing hunger. Participants had the chance to sample great food from Tarrant County's top chefs and restaurants. Beautiful pottery and unique bowls donated by local artists also helped to raise money for the food bank. "The bowls are made by local artisans and donated. Everything community members buy, including their ticket, those are proceeds that go back into feeding hungry families that live in our community," said TAFB President and CEO Julie Butner. Why you should care In recent years, TAFB has been on the front lines of distributing healthy food where the need is great. Drive-thru events serve tens of thousands of families and individuals with limited resources or who perhaps live paycheck to paycheck. "This is our biggest fundraiser of the year, and we've been doing this for at least 15 years," Butner said. What you can do This year's event on Friday at the Will Rogers Memorial Center was sold out. Donations can still be made by visiting "We're so super excited about the public support and how folks are coming out to help Tarrant Area Food Bank help the rest of the community," Butner said. The Source The information in this story comes from the Tarrant Area Food Bank and an interview with CEO Julie Butner.
Yahoo
23-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
After losing millions in federal cuts, North Texas food banks must now rely on donors
The Tarrant Area Food Bank is turning to local support now that it faces a combined deficit of $4.2 million due to the ending of federal food-assistance programs. That equates to 2.5 million meals for families across North Texas. The nonprofit acts as a regional clearinghouse for donated food serving Fort Worth and 13 surrounding counties. It is responsible for distributing a mix of fresh, frozen and shelf-stable products to a network of hunger-relief charities and social services organizations. The Trump administration is freezing over $1 billion in pandemic-era spending for schools and food banks, six months before the programs were scheduled to end. The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced March 10 that it is cutting the initiatives. The programs cut were Local Food for Schools Cooperative Agreement and the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement, which help schools and food banks pay for food sourced from local farmers, respectively. Julie Butner, president and CEO of Tarrant Area Food Bank, said the organization has been able to maintain balanced supply and distribution through the local food purchase agreement. The food bank also received supplemental food purchasing assistance from the Commodity Credit Corp., the government agency created to protect farm income and prices. These services, which help make up 30% of the food bank's purchasing budget, have been axed. According to a USDA spokesperson, the programs are being cut in an effort to bring nutrition programs out of 'the COVID era.' 'With 16 robust nutrition programs in place, USDA remains focused on its core mission: strengthening food security, supporting agricultural markets, and ensuring access to nutritious food,' the spokesperson said. 'Unlike the Biden Administration, which funneled billions in (Commodity Credit Corp.) funds into short-term programs with no plan for longevity, USDA is prioritizing stable, proven solutions that deliver lasting impact.' It's unclear when exactly the government funding will end. The USDA notified states that the assistance is no longer available and those programs will be terminated following 60-day notification, though the notification date was not provided. Butner said the Tarrant Area Food Bank was notified March 14 by Feeding Texas, a statewide hunger-relief network, but has not been told when to expect the programs to end. The USDA spokesperson said the funds are being redirected to 'fulfill existing commitments and support ongoing local food purchases.' The spokesperson did not further specify where the funds were redirected to. Without the government aid that Tarrant Area Food Bank relied on to purchase fresh goods from local farmers, donations and support from the community will make up nearly all of the group's food purchasing budget. Butner said she is hopeful the nonprofit's donors and private supporters will bridge the gap until September, when Congress sets the budget for next year. The Tarrant Area Food Bank is pushing for a strong Farm Bill when the 2018 Farm Bill is set to expire in September. The Farm Bill, officially named the Agriculture Improvement Act, is a comprehensive bill passed every five to six years that acts as the primary agricultural and food policy instrument for the federal government. Butner said she is concerned any time the Farm Bill is up for discussion on Capitol Hill, but especially now with major federal food-purchasing programs set to expire six months before planned. Tarrant Area Food Bank is partnered with Feeding America and Feeding Texas in advocating for two main points in the new bill: continued investment in local and regional food systems while continuing the partnership between the food bank and U.S. agriculture; and support for key programs which help offset food costs for low-income households. The second point is pertinent to ensuring food-insecure families are properly nourished, Butner said. As food costs rise, low-income households will have to decide whether to spend more of their budget on food or other necessities like rent or gas for the car. 'Oftentimes food is the easier thing to forgo,' Butner said. 'You can skip a meal a day. You can skip multiple meals in a week. It's not healthy, but it's better than being evicted from your home, if you're not able to pay your rent, or having your electricity or water bill cut off, if you're not able to pay those bills.' Programs that would aid in offsetting food costs include the Emergency Food Assistance Program, the Commodity Supplemental Food Program for Seniors and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. In Tarrant County, nearly 10% of households receive help through SNAP, about 4 percentage points higher than the national average, according to the 2023 U.S. Census Bureau.
