Cars Line Up For North Texas Food Bank's Distribution Event

Ahead of the holiday season, the North Texas Food Bank (NTFB) issued a statement informing about an increase of 15% in its food distribution efforts since July. During a food distribution event held on Dec. 28, 2023, at the Marsalis Avenue Church of Christ in Dallas, a mile-long car line started forming almost five hours before the event began.

“There’s 640,000 people who are food insecure right here in our own backyard,” said NTFB Chief External Affairs Officer Erica Yaeger.

As reported by WFAA, the church partnered with the NTFB to distribute food and gas to neighbors in need. According to the nonprofit, a sustained increase in the cost of essential grocery items, utilities and housing is making more people struggle to cover their basic needs.

“We hate when families have to make choices between putting food on their table, paying for housing and transportation,” said Yaeger. “The North Texas Food Bank is trying to mitigate that choice.”

In October 2023, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released a report on household food security in the nation that shed light on some troubling findings. According to the USDA, Texas is the second most food-insecure state in the country with an average of 15.5% of households in Texas experiencing a lack of consistent access to affordable and nutritious food. Additionally, the NTFB reports that 1 in 6 children in North Texas is food insecure.

“It’s almost unbelievable that in these United States, we have people without food,” Marsalis Avenue Church coordinator Ruth Williams told WFAA. “The need is serious, and I don’t see an end to it.”

Earlier this year, the NTFB started the "Face of Hunger" holiday-giving campaign, to raise awareness of the fact that hunger impacts the lives of nearly 640,000 North Texans. “The face of hunger is all around us – it could be living right next door, working alongside you every day or even attending school with your children,” said Yaeger.

The nonprofit will hold three distribution events on Dec. 29, 2023.