Support Neighbors Like Rich on #GivingTuesday
Despite the challenging year, we hope everyone found a way to make this Thanksgiving special and meaningful.
With the holiday season now officially in full swing, the North Texas Food Bank is focused on ensuring the 1 in 5 North Texans experiencing hunger have enough food during this time of great need. This includes being a part of #GivingTuesday on Dec. 1, a global generosity movement designed to transform communities and the world that takes place every year on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving.
Over the past seven years, it has grown to inspire people to give, collaborate and celebrate generosity. And this is exemplified by our big-hearted friends at HungerMitao, who are matching #GivingTuesday gifts to North Texas Food Bank – up to $100,000 through this link.
This means $1 will provide 6 nutritious meals to neighbors like Rich, who is one of the 40 percent of individuals accessing charitable food assistance for the first time because of the pandemic. We invite you to meet Rich below and learn more about how your support will help families like his. For more information about #GivingTuesday and to give, visit ntfb.org/givingtuesday.
For Rich and his two children, the COVID-19 pandemic changed everything. Being a single parent isn’t easy, and Rich was proud to always have been able to give his kids what they needed to grow up healthy. His career installing A/V equipment for school districts had been more than enough to provide for his family. But when his hours were cut this past spring, Rich began to worry.
He tried hard to make ends meet, but soon his paycheck could only cover bills. There wasn’t enough money left over for groceries.
“I have always tried to make it on my own and have never wanted to ask for help,” Rich says. “But when your kids come to you and say they are hungry, it is just devastating. We were out of everything.”
After a quick search on the internet, he found out that one of our Partner Agencies was right around the corner from his home. His initial hesitation turned to gratitude as he received the balanced and healthy foods his kids needed.
“This food is such a blessing,” Rich says. “I don’t know what would have happened if the food pantry weren’t there. When this is all over, I plan to go and volunteer so I can pay back what they have done for me and my family.”
To learn more about how the North Texas Food Bank and its Feeding Network are helping children, seniors and families this holiday season, read our Around the Table Winter Newsletter here.