County Workers Make $23,000 Food Bank Donation
FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) - The Tarrant Area Food Bank got a big boost on Friday. One donation consisted of an entire 18-wheeler of food.
The semi loaded with mac and cheese, green beans and corn came courtesy of Tarrant County employees.
At this year's annual Tarrant County Employee Food Drive workers raised some $23,000. The money was collected in a number of ways -- including an online auction, food sales, and even having employees pay for the privilege of wearing jeans and tennis shoes to work.
Tarrant County Volunteer Services/Special Projects Coordinator Ann Farmer said that after finding out a study showed one-fourth of the kids in Tarrant County didn't know if they would get enough nutritious food each day employees saw an especially big need.
"It's an intolerable figure," Farmer said of the study figure. "We've got to do something about it and the county employees responded, consistently in the last 10 years, but this year we were able to buy an entire truck."
Food bank employees say weather conditions and the economy have resulted in a continued high demand for assistance. "The need is huge," explained Tarrant Area Food Bank Executive Director Bo Sodebergh. "Our distribution has increased by over 80-percent in the last four years."
Employees took the cash to Kroger and they converted it into the trailer of food.
This isn't the first time Tarrant County employees have stepped in to help those in need. "We appreciate the help of the community. A gift like this will go a long way," said Sodebergh.
This is the third consecutive year Tarrant County workers have raised enough money to fill a tractor-trailer with food.
