North Texas Food Bank

Hello! My name is Anya Elam. My 8th grade Algebra class has started a service learning project focused on raising money for a charity that we find important. Over the next several weeks, I will be gathering data from this campaign and using the results for modeling and analysis. I am starting this GoFundMe for the North Texas Food Bank because this is something I find important. According to the N.T.F.B., "Every $1 will help provide access to three nutritious meals for children, seniors, and families in our community." I believe that no matter who you are, you should not have to be hungry. Everyone deserves to eat. Please help me raise money for N.T.F.B. and support our community.

Want to know more about N.T.F.B.? Here is the link to their website:

Who we are:

We are a dedicated group of students from the University of North Texas, united by our passion for making a real difference in our community. As part of our degree program, we are raising funds to support the North Texas Food Bank, a remarkable local charity devoted to reducing food insecurity in our area.

Your generous donation can help ensure that fewer Texans go hungry and empower us to apply our academic learning to meaningful public service. By contributing to this essential cause, you can join us in making a significant impact on our community. Together, we can create a brighter, more secure future for our fellow Texans. Please consider supporting this vital mission!

What is North Texas Food Bank?

The North Texas Food Bank (NTFB), founded in 1982, is a nonprofit hunger relief organization. It distributes donated and purchased food through nearly 500 partner agencies across 13 counties. The NTFB aims to provide access to 92 million nutritious meals annually by 2025 and operates a state-of-the-art volunteer and distribution center in Plano, Texas. NTFB is a member of Feeding America, a nationwide network of food banks, food pantries and local meal programs

Who Does NTFB Help?

NTFB provides access to nutritious meals for hungry children, seniors, and families across 13 counties in North Texas. Last year, they facilitated almost 77 million meals. Despite a booming Texas economy, 1 in 8 Texans face food insecurity, affecting children, seniors, veterans, people with disabilities, and working families. According to a recent Feeding America study, nearly 5 million people face hunger in Texas, with 777,690 in the NTFB service area, over one-third of whom are children. Texas now has a food insecurity rate of 16.4%, leading the nation.

How your donation will be used

Funds will directly be donated to NTFB to support their efforts in distributing nutritious meals to those in need.

Why NTFB matters?

Team Community Catalyst is very familiar with community service and giving back. When getting to know one another we spoke about our different experiences with community service.

"I spoke about the times I volunteered at Minnie's Food Pantry. I first volunteered at Minnie’s Food Pantry in 4th grade. My grandma's church frequently volunteered at the food pantry and this time me and my mom came to lend a hand. At first I thought it would just be packing food but it was way more impactful than just packing food. When people started showing up I was surprised at how long the line was. We started to give people in line water and to my surprise also a hug. My first couple hugs I was skeptical but as I kept going down the line and seeing how grateful these people are for us helping them was an experience that has stayed with me forever. I asked my mom to go back time and time again. Fast forward to now I have a desire to make volunteering a part of my lifestyle and to a work environment where we have dedicated days to all give back."

"My experience with food banks comes from the consumer side of things. Growing up, I lived well below the poverty line where most days the only meal I’d get was the free lunch at school. We almost never had a pantry, fridge, or freezer even close to being full and fresh foods were almost unheard of. Feeding 4 kids was difficult and sometimes we couldn’t make ends meet. Every Wednesday and Sunday our church would hand out small boxes of canned goods and occasionally fresh fruits and veggies that people could come pick up. Most weeks we would have to take home these boxes and try to feed 6 people with the ingredients provided. Sometimes that wasn’t enough so we would have to look for local food banks but they weren’t reliable either due to them being short staffed or not receiving any donations. We relied on community engagement and the kindness of others to eat. Eventually we had become more financially secure and didn’t have to rely on community donations. My experiences with food banks has left me with a deep appreciation for the power of community support and the impact of civic engagement in addressing food insecurity."

How you can find more information

Did you know that 1 in 4 Texas children don't know where their next meal is coming from? In addition, 1 in 9 Texas senior citizens will go without a meal today and 1 in 4 African American Texans go hungry every day. (Feeding Texas, 2024) United Nourishment of Texas wants to help end hunger in North Texas. To do that, we have formed a coalition with the North Texas Food Bank. Together, we can do our best to end hunger for everyone who doesn’t know where their next meal is coming from. It should never have to be a choice of keeping a roof over your head or eating. United Nourishment of Texas wants to help the North Texas Food Bank reach their goals. Our initial goal is to raise $1000 towards the cause. Hopefully, we can raise much more. Together, we can make a difference. If we can raise just $1000, we can feed up to 4000 children.

REASONS TO DONATE

There are numerous reasons to donate to this cause. One reason is the development of our children. According to the World Food Programme, “Not only do the consequences of not enough – or the wrong – food cause suffering and poor health, they also slow progress in many other areas of development like education and employment. Poor and inadequate nutrition also leaves children vulnerable to diseases and illness and can cause stunted growth." (Kleitman, 2018) Another reason is to help your community. Texas families and residents are hurting. This could be your friend, your neighbor, or even your family member. In the last few years, “15.5% of households in Texas” report “a lack of consistent access to affordable and healthy food.” (North Texas Food Bank, 2023) In North Texas alone, 640000 people go hungry every day. Furthermore, we need to take care of the vulnerable members of our community. In addition to our children, our Senior Citizens, and disabled citizens are at an increased risk to be affected by hunger. For instance, 11% of our Senior Citizens must choose between food and medical care on a daily basis. (Feeding Texas, 2024) This is not the way to treat the generation that is responsible for so much good in our community. Also, according to the US Department of Agriculture, our disabled citizens face hunger at “twice the rate of their nondisabled counterparts.” (Ives-Rublee & Sloane, 2021) Imagine being in a position where working may be impossible and now food is a luxury that you often go without. A final reason to donate is this epidemic is not going away. If anything, it is getting worse. More Texans every day need help. The North Texas Food Bank gave out 77 million meals in 2019. The goal was to reach 92 million by 2025, but demand was much higher. Due to generous people like you, the North Texas Food Bank was able to match that demand and distributed nearly 137 million meals in 2022. Without donations, millions of North Texans would have gone without the basic necessity of food.

HOW WILL YOUR DONATION BE USED

Your donation will be used in several ways. As the North Texas Food Bank states, "95 percent of the resources donated to NTFB goes directly to supporting programs that provide food to children, seniors and families." (North Texas Food Bank, 2024) “A nourished community is a thriving community, and we are committed to serve as many of our neighbors in need as possible with the resources that the community makes available.” (Norsworthy, 2023) This means your donation will be used to directly fight hunger. Not only does the North Texas Food Bank provide food to children, seniors, and the community at large, they also believe in sustainability, and some of your donations will be used in their innovative garden programs. The garden programs teach North Texan’s about the impact of nutritious food and how to tend to your own garden as a sustainable resource. If you want to learn more about the garden programs, please, watch the video below. Another unique program that your donation will contribute to is the annual Kids Camp. During the kids camp, the North Texas Food Bank takes the opportunity to teach young people how to fight hunger in their neighborhood. It provides a “behind-the-scenes look at The North Texas Food Bank and includes activities related to hunger, gardening and nutrition.” (North Texas Food Bank, 2024) You can be confident that your money will be used correctly and efficiently to directly fight hunger and give North Texan’s hope for the future. “After over 40 years of feeding North Texas’ less fortunate, the organization currently serves 13 counties across North Texas, including Collin, Dallas, Denton, Grayson, Fannin, Rockwall, Hunt, Kaufman, Ellis, Navarro, Hopkins, Lamar, and Delta.” (Norsworthy, 2023)

WHY THIS MATTERS

It is heartbreaking that people go hungry in Texas. People from all walks of life are food insecure. In Texas, this affects nearly 4.6 million people. (Odom, 2023) Imagine waking up tomorrow and not knowing if you will eat today. One such Texan who was thrust into this situation is a gentleman named Anthony. Anthony was recently unemployed and was not sure where his next meal would come from. He made the decision to visit the CitySquare Food Pantry, one of the many pantries managed by the North Texas Food Bank. “One meal might seem insignificant, but to Anthony it provided critical nutrition, and gave him the encouragement needed to face another day.” (North Texas Food Bank, 2019) Anthony was struggling to keep going when he walked in to the pantry that day, but the food that he received fueled his nourishment and reignited his dreams. It gave him a reason to keep moving forward. As he stated, it helped him “physically and mentally.” (North Texas Food Bank, 2019) Imagine yourself in this situation. At your weakest, often you need your community to step up. You can be that person who steps up and helps people just like Anthony.

HELP YOUR FELLOW NORTH TEXANS

Bobby's Story:

Meet Bobby, a 90-year-old North Texas resident who shares his story on his struggles with hunger, and how he was able to find help.

Join us in helping North Texas families in need. In an effort to help the community, the Mean Green Food Machine is raising money to support the North Texas Food Bank: a key fighter in the battle against hunger.

What Is The North Texas Food Bank?

Asking for help can be difficult, as Bobby mentions in his own experience, but it's important to know that avenues of support are readily available. What organizations like The North Texas Food Bank (NTFB) strive to provide are uplifting, judgement-free, life-changing services all dedicated to helping communities in need. Founded in 1982, the NTFB is a non-profit organization that at present serves nutritious food and relief - at no cost - to community members in 13 north Texas counties.

The Importance of Fighting Hunger

With Texas being the second hungriest state in the country, the North Texas Food Bank is in an ongoing fight with hunger. Food insecurity is a catalyst for several other problems. Growing children require adequate nutrition for their development. Unhealthy foods are often cheaper and since hunger and poverty often go hand in hand, these circumstances lead to increased rates of child obesity as well. If we can eliminate hunger as one of the factors inhibiting someone’s socioeconomic growth, then more attention and income can be focused on improving those other areas. There are countless reasons why someone may not be able to obtain or afford food, but hunger is not an individual problem. The United States does not have a shortage of resources; it is the citizens that are lacking support. This is what makes organizations like the NTFB so crucial to our community.

Where Does the Money Go?

95% of the resources donated to North Texas Food Bank go directly to supporting programs that provide food to children, seniors, and families. One dollar equals three meals for our North Texas community!

Services include:

• Nutrition services for educating people in the community.

• Garden programs that’s offer workshops, tours, and volunteer opportunities.

• Disaster relief for responding to major disaster.

Check Out the Story of This Mother of 6, Maria:

Thanks to the North Texas Food Bank and its Feeding Network partner Brother Bill’s, Maria Olivos doesn’t have to worry about having food for her six children.

“Thank you so much to the North Texas Food Bank because my children can eat better and we are very happy,” she says.

Maria started visiting the grocery store at Brother Bill’s Helping Hand several months ago and says with the cost of housing and groceries up, they needed help to ensure their family had nutritious food at home.

“You can’t buy the same,” she says, of the groceries they receive. “The rent is so expensive; taxes have gone up and so has food. The food they give us here helps us a lot. It’s not like before where money would go farther, but for me this is now poverty.”

She says her children look forward to the rice, oatmeal, fruits and vegetables they receive, and one of her daughters enjoys visiting the pantry to help her select groceries.

“I am so grateful,” Maria says.

Our North Texas neighbors need you!

Be the one to give one.

ABOUT OUR TEAM (HI, THERE!)

Hello! We are a group of students from the University of North Texas--Andre, Emma, Miyuki, Diana, Sasha, and Aubrey who either know someone or has personally experienced food insecurity.

When we found out that a startling 1 in 8 people in North Texas are food insecure and faces the uncertainty of not knowing where their next meal will come from, our small but mighty group decided to band together to see if we could do something about it.

ABOUT OUR MISSION (AND YES, WE HAVE A PLAN!)

It is our goal to raise $1,500 to feed 4,500 people within the North Texas community. How? And where do you come in? We're glad you asked!