Tarrant Area Food Bank shelves are empty, needs help
FORT WORTH – The Tarrant Area Food Bank says it needs your help.
The need for food goes up during the summer when kids are unable to get free or reduced lunches, but the food bank says it is facing a shortage at the worst possible time.
TAFB is full of volunteers. Problem is, it's not full of food.
"We're operating at all-time lows," said Julie Butner, the CEO of TAFB. "It's particularly worrisome right now, all before the summer months, when kids won't have access to free and reduced breakfast, lunch, and after-school programs."
The food bank likes to have two to three million pounds of food onsite daily, but Butner said they only have about a million pounds on their shelves right now.
Even down some aisles where shelves are full, it's mostly water, which is important, but isn't going to help people when they're hungry, Butner said.
"We're seeing retailers who donate very generously to the Tarrant Area Food Bank reduce the amount of distributions that they're bringing to the food bank because they don't have as much surplus to provide," Butner said.
That means there's less food to provide to people in our area. Those who need help might be different than who you're thinking of.
"In this community, you need $31 an hour to provide for four basic things: Rent, gasoline, utilities, and food. $31 an hour," said Butner.
She said that means plenty of teachers, 9-1-1 operators, bus drivers, and others may rely on the food bank.
If you want to help stock the shelves, you can visit TAFB.org and click donate.
