How to Get Food Assistance After the Texas Winter Storm

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Tarrant Area Food Bank’s warehouse supplies food to over 350 Partner Agencies across a 13-county span. After necessary closures during the February week of winter weather, we are escalating our efforts to push more food out into our communities for those at home without power, water, or otherwise affected by the disaster.

How to Get Food

Find a pantry close-by
Our Find Food Map lists all 350 of our partners who distribute food. All you need to do is type in your zip code to http://tafb.org/find-food/#locate-food and it will reveal the pantries in your area. Be sure to call or visit each location’s website to verify what hours they will be open depending on the weather, their COVID-19 guidelines, and if they were affected by power/water outages.

Visit a drive through mobile pantry
TAFB regularly drops off food at mobile markets that travel to neighborhoods near you as far north as the Oklahoma border to as south as Hamilton, TX. To view an updated-daily document of our mobile markets, visit http://tafb.org/wp-content/uploads/mobile/mobile-pantry-schedule.pdf

Attend a Mega distribution
Mega Mobile Markets are weekly or special one-time events that distribute large quantities of food at landmark locations. Every Friday until May, a Mega Mobile Market is held at Herman Clark Stadium in Fort Worth from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. For updated information on the upcoming Mega Mobile Markets, including special events at venues like Dickies Arena and Globe Life Field, visit tafb.org/megamobilemarkets.

Have food delivered
If you are homebound for any reason, including disability or lack of transportation, you may qualify for groceries delivery. Please call our Find Food hotline, a collaboration with Catholic Charities, at 817-534-0814.

Attend a special event
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for daily posts listing the special events open the next day that are additional to our typical monthly mobile markets.

Enroll in SNAP benefits
Depending on income eligibility, you may qualify for SNAP benefits (formerly food stamps). Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, becoming enrolled is easier than ever . Request a meeting with one of our Community Resource Specialists by submitting a form here, or learn more at tafb.org/snap.

How to Help

As high as the need is right now, we have also seen the community show up and band together to make sure nobody slips through the cracks during this tough season. If you are able to pitch in and help TAFB serve the amount of people we do (which is about 1,000,000 individuals every week), here are ways to get involved:

Come out and volunteer!

Our Distribution Center recently reopened following a nearly year-long closure due to COVID-19. By helping us in our on-site Quality Control, you will sort and package the products and food that your neighbors will receive when they visit a pantry. If you prefer to get in on the action, join us at a Mobile Market to help direct traffic at drive through distributions or even help load groceries into families’ cars. Both of these opportunities (and more!) can be found at tafb.org/volunteer. Don’t forget to bring your friends and family!

Donate food

There is nothing more gratifying than knowing that when you donate a box of macaroni and cheese or a jar of peanut butter, it will end up in the hands of a child or family who may not have otherwise had food on the table. Our biggest need is kid-friendly and ready-to-eat food that is easy for kids and people experiencing homelessness to prepare and eat. These include pop-top cans of ravioli/meats/soups/etc., cereal bars, fruit cups, juice, and individual cups of macaroni and cheese, oatmeal, cereal, etc. Host a food drive or pick up a few extra items on your next grocery run, then drop them off at our headquarters located at 2600 Cullen St. in Fort Worth.

Give a gift

We completely understand if you prefer taking it easy at home recovering from hard times and continuing to shelter in place from the pandemic. But would you consider making a donation to help those who are not so fortunate? Every one dollar you donate translates to five meals we are able to provide, so give what you can at tafb.org/donate.

Want a way to give and receive a treat in return? Our signature annual event, Empty Bowls, has transformed this year into a massive donation campaign to fund an Empty Bowls Mega Mobile Market at Dickies Arena on March 25. If you donate today, a $25 gift will provide one box of food that we will give to a family at the grocery distribution. Then, you can pick up a hand-crafted bowl and a goodie bag at our donor appreciation event the following day. Learn more and participate here: tafb.org/empty-bowls. Want to engage your company? See our sponsorship opportunities here.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]