'There Was No Playbook For COVID': North Texas Food Bank Comes Through For Thousands During Pandemic
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - It has been a year where local groups have stepped up even more to help during the pandemic.
That includes the North Texas Food Bank, an organization started in 1982 by Liz Minyard and three other women.
"We used to say, imagine a world without hunger. We said our goal is to go out of business, but obviously that never came true because of the need," explained Minyard.
That need was evident last Saturday when the North Texas Food Bank held its largest food distribution event at Fair Park. The lines have grown since the first drives as the pandemic took hold in DFW last March and April.
"There was no playbook for COVID. Even though we have crisis management plans and we've supported disasters and tornadoes and many other disasters in the community," said NTFB President and CEO Trisha Cunningham.
Over the years, as more people moved to the area, so did the need for help to keep families from going hungry.
In 1982, 400,000 pounds of food was collected and handed out in the first year.
"To think how proud we were in 1982 of our 400,000 pounds, we were all celebrating that we were able to receive that much food. That was a lot of food for us in '82," said Minyard.
During last Saturday's drive, the food bank handed out more than 7,000 turkeys and 600,000 pounds of food.
It's enough to feed about 25,000 people.
"If there's silver linings in anything that you see with COVID, I have, certainly, a reinforced faith in our people, in our community because if there's a need they want to figure out what can I do and how can I help," said Cunningham.
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