Thousands flock in Texas to get free food for Thanksgiving

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• A week before the Thanksgiving holiday, thousands of people in their cars flocked in Dallas to receive food from a North Texas Food Bank event.
• The “Drive-Thru Mobile Pantry” event was able to distribute about 600,000 pounds of food items within five hours.
• MW Logistics’ CEO was behind the idea of the Dallas food charity event facilitated by the North Texas Food Bank (NTFB).

On Saturday, several thousand people in cars formed up in Dallas to obtain food arranged by North Texas Food Bank (NTFB) a week before the Thanksgiving celebration. CBS reported that this food distribution event was the biggest ever NTFB has ever had.

Senior Director of NTFB’s Marketing and Communications, Anna Kurian, told CBS in an email during the five-hour event, they’ve seen over 6,000 cars and around 25,000 people assisted by workers and volunteers of the food charity.

The organization gave around 600,000 pounds of food comprising 7,280 turkeys during the event called “Drive-Thru Mobile Pantry.”

A  video of the occasion showed an enormous number of cars lined up to grab food and staff filling vehicles with containers and stacks of rations.

One resident, Samantha Woods, told CBS Dallas that they felt blessed by the help of North Texas amidst these challenging times.

Kurian added that most families who went there got bread, one turkey, assorted dry, and fresh produce. She estimates that each person received at least 20 meals worth of foodstuff.

The NTFB Senior Director said the organization understood many families’ struggle during this COVID-19 crisis, with several people getting laid off from their jobs. She also said the event was the idea of MW Logistics CEO, who came to the organization to facilitate the food giving to south Dallas families. The charitable occasion was also made possible by lots of community support the organization had.

NTFB’s website reported that it gave more than 63 million meals between March to September, increasing 45% from the previous year’s distribution. Kurian added that during the pandemic, all their agencies witnessed an increase in needs, noting that, for the first time, no less than 40% of the individuals have visited their offices in person.

She’s also optimistic that through the support of communities, the organization could continue helping even with an increased need.

Increasing food security instability does not only happen in Texas. Amidst the pandemic, the whole nation experiences it too.

Citing data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey, Policy Research (IPR) at Northwestern University reported in June that food uncertainty had increased two-folds and even triplicated for households with children because of the health crisis.

Report co-author and IPR director Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach told CBS News that the food security crisis would continue. 

Source: CBS News