Hunger in America

• According to a 2010 study conducted by Feeding America, a nonprofit organization that provides food for distribution to 200 food banks across 50 states, 5.7 million people receive food assistance through one of Feeding America's member agencies. The North Texas Food Bank (NTFB) is one of those agencies. The NTFB has 300 member agencies, 1,184 distribution sites and serves 13 north Texas counties. NTFB provides food to 25,000 people in north Texas each day and in the last fiscal year, provided 44 million meals.
  
  

NTFB

• The North Texas Food Bank services the following counties: Grayson, Fannin, Lamar, Delta, Hopkins, Hunt, Collin, Denton, Dallas, Rockwall, Kaufman, Ellis and Navarro. Agencies that receive the food distributed through the NTFB are soup kitchens, food pantries, shelters, after-school programs, senior programs and other social service agencies. The food is delivered by the NTFB to the member agencies for distribution. According to the NTFB, in 2010, 1 of 4 Texans under 18, or 1.6 million children, do not have enough food to meet basic nutritional needs. This statistic ties Texas with Arizona and Arkansas as states that have the highest rates of child food insecurity. Since last year, the rates have increased for the number of children and the elderly Texans who need food assistance.
  
  

Find an Agency

• To locate an agency in North Texas that provides food assistance, you have three options. Visit the NTFB website (see Resources). You can find agencies near you by town, Zip, street or name. If you don't have Internet access, you can call Community Council of Greater Dallas at phone number 211. This number can be called 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If you can't get through you can reach them at 214-379-4636.
  
  

Contributions

• Contributions are always welcome and help defray distribution costs. According to the NTFB website, 94 cents of every dollar goes to feed the hungry and just a $1 contribution can feed four people. There are also volunteer opportunities with the NTFB itself, as well as its numerous member organizations.