Giving Thanks: NTFB Supporters
What does it mean to be grateful?
The word gratitude is derived from the Latin word “gratia,” which means grace, graciousness, or gratefulness. Living your life with gratitude means choosing to focus your time and attention on what you appreciate.
As I reflect on the work that I do at the Food Bank and what I am grateful for during this season of giving thanks, our donors always come top of mind because they make our success possible. I am grateful for and appreciate their thoughtfulness, their selflessness, and their passion to help us advance our mission of closing the hunger gap in North Texas by providing access to nutritious food.
You see, without them, we wouldn’t be the North Texas Food Bank that we are today. Without them, we wouldn’t believe that anything is possible, like our new comprehensive campaign called Nourish North Texas. With our donors behind us we can provide Food for Today and Hope for Tomorrow!
The support we receive from our donors touches every area of the Food Bank, as you can see from the reflections below of several of our Food Bankers.
“Every month our collective team, partner network, and volunteers provide over 8M meals to our neighbors in need throughout our 13-county service area. Without donor support and love, as a network, this is just not possible. Just like every meal matters, every dollar matters, and for every dollar we are grateful.” – Kim Morris, Director of Community Partner Relations
“I am thankful to all our donors because unlike the commercial world, our donors are our main source of income. This pays for the facility, running cost and the workforce at the North Texas Food Bank, enabling us to focus on the fight to eradicate hunger within our community. Without donors, we would not exist.” – Gavin McCurrach, Director of Quality Management
The Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP, known locally as PAN) is directly funded by the Texas and United States Departments of Agriculture, but donor support allows our team to provide additional products such as fresh produce and “bonus boxes” to seniors monthly. With this additional funding, the team can provide variety to our CSFP participants’ diets and even allows us to assist those seniors who do not qualify for the program with a non-perishable “bonus box.” These additional dollars give our team the flexibility to feed any senior in need! – Jennifer Davila, CSFP Lead
Our Social Services Assistance Team works daily to provide potentially eligible individuals in our service area access to SNAP benefits and resources to best support them in feeding their families and supplementing their household budget. Through donor support and donations, the people we serve are able to further supplement their budget through food and resources provided by our food bank and partner agencies, which directly impacts how they manage and meet the needs of their families. — Alana Pierre, Director of SNAP & Social Services Assistance
As we cultivate greater appreciation for what is around us, we can include being thankful for what’s inside of us. We can be grateful that we have a heart, a mind, and the wisdom to know how to live with kindness and compassion. With gratitude, people acknowledge the goodness in their lives. As a result, being grateful also helps people connect to something larger than themselves as individuals. I feel honored to be connected every day to so many generous, compassionate and dedicated supporters who want to make our community a better place to live for everyone.
In the words of Winston Churchill, “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” From the bottom of our hearts, thank you to all who give to the North Texas Food Bank, no matter the amount! Thank you for trusting us and partnering with us to ensure that our neighbors have access to nutritious foods and that our partners will be able to meet increased needs for years to come. Happy Thanksgiving!
Zahra Perez is a Major Gift Officer for the North Texas Food Bank.