Thousands Take Part In Mass Food Giveaway In Dallas: 'The Coronavirus Is Really Taking Us Down'
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - An estimated 2,000 vehicles with people picking up 6,500 boxes of food took about three hours at Fair Park on Thursday.
It was the largest one-day food offering for one location in the city of Dallas so far during the coronavirus pandemic.
National Guard members marked car windows with designated numbers, representing how many boxes of produce and canned goods a family would receive.
The now-weekly mobile food distribution operation is organized to provide groceries for families now facing financial struggles because of workplace closures and job layoffs due to stay at home orders.
Many people got in line before the sun came up.
Recipients told CBS 11, the Food Bank pantry process is generating this huge response because of the extraordinary need.
"It's just so how's there's a lot of people no jobs, and really need the food,". said LaCatherine Byrd of Dallas. "The coronavirus is really taking us down on that point."
"When your funds are limited and income at risk, you're going to cut back on food costs, so we're here to help in emergency situations," said Valerie Hawthorne of the North Texas Food Bank.
How great is the need?
The Food Bank said it will increase these mobile deliveries to three per week staring next week.
