Cruise Innovation Grant Supports NTFB’s Senior Meal Delivery Program

The $20,000 gift is helping ensure homebound older adults have access to meals.

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A $20,000 Cruise Innovation Grant from Cruise LLC is helping the North Texas Food Bank ensure homebound seniors have access to meal delivery.

“Thank you to Cruise LLC for helping us bridge the gap for these senior adults facing hunger,” said Trisha Cunningham, President and CEO of the North Texas Food Bank. “With Texas having the third highest number of seniors experiencing food insecurity in the nation, this donation is vital in helping serve those older adults who are facing hunger.”

The North Texas Food Bank works to fight senior hunger through its main food distribution program and its dedicated Senior Program (the Commodity Supplemental Food Program, or CSFP). In the last fiscal year, it provided seniors with access to 14 million physical meals, including 3 million that were distributed through CSFP.

CSFP meals are provided through Senior Food Boxes that are picked up at designated sites throughout North Texas. However, whether because of transportation, health or mobility issues, some seniors are not able to pick up their boxes.

For those individuals, the NTFB provides delivery, with over 1,700 boxes being delivered each month during the last fiscal year.

One woman who receives a delivery twice a month told NTFB staff that she looks forward to opening her box each time it arrives.

She lives with diabetes, so she said she works hard to find healthy ways to utilize every item included in her delivery. Among her favorite recipes are pancakes with oatmeal added into the mix to increase their nutritional value and salmon and potato patties using the canned salmon included in her CSFP box.

Cruise LLC is a leading self-driving car company, and they wanted to support food bank delivery programs, especially those that serve seniors and individuals with limited mobility. The company said delivery programs helped neighbors receive food safely during the pandemic and can continue to be a tool for ensuring neighbors have access to the groceries they need.