Listening and Learning From Our Neighbors

The North Texas Food Bank is working to better serve our neighbors with the help of results from a Feeding America Client Survey.

Thanks to support from a Starbucks Equitable Food Access Grant, the North Texas Food Bank recently conducted a Feeding America Client Survey of more than 550 neighbors at 23 partner agencies across our 13-county service area.

Overall, we learned that neighbors are satisfied with the foods and services available. But we are always trying to improve. After analyzing the survey results, we found three major areas of focus: Health, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and Convenience.

Here’s a look at what we heard and what we are doing in response to the survey results.  

Participant Health

What We Heard

We heard that personal health is important to our neighbors and that because many are concerned about health issues, like diabetes and high blood pressure, access to healthy food is critical. Of those surveyed, 76% reported having to make an economic tradeoff decision between food and medicine or medical care costs at least once in the last 12 months.

What We Are Doing

We know that healthy foods, like fresh produce, can be difficult for our neighbors to purchase. Last year, we distributed 38 million pounds of fresh produce — the most in our history — and we have set goals to continue growing that number and ensuring that the quality of our produce is high. We are also working to enable our partners to accept and offer more fresh produce, including by providing some of our partners with grants to increase their produce storage.

We Also Heard

Nearly a quarter of respondents said they would be interested in information, referrals, or services related to medical screenings and nearly half said they would be interested in information, referrals, or services related to healthy eating.

What We Are Doing

We are exploring new ways to partner with health care organizations. We want to increase access to nutritious food for our neighbors who are going to the doctor, and we want to provide opportunities for connecting to healthcare services for neighbors who are visiting food pantries to get groceries.

The NTFB also has a Nutrition Services team that provides in-person culinary and nutrition education. Free online healthy recipes, cooking demos, and nutrition education is available at ntfb.org/nutrition-services.

SNAP

What We Heard

Even though the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is a valuable resource that can stretch a family budget while providing choice and convenience in grocery shopping, just 24% of individuals surveyed say their household is participating in SNAP.

What We Are Doing

NTFB’s SNAP team provides virtual and in-person assistance in completing and submitting applications for SNAP, Medicaid, CHIP, and other programs. However, our SNAP team is expanding the ways it can partner with organizations to provide application assistance. For example, last year NTFB launched its SNAP Mobile program, which is an office on wheels that allows our assistance navigators to help neighbors in remote areas complete their benefits applications. To find out more, to contact a representative of the SNAP team, or to find a list of locations where you can meet with a team member, visit ntfb.org/snap-information.

We know that for those who do receive SNAP, benefits often don’t last all month. We recognize the importance of continuing to work with our partners to provide free groceries. NTFB is also committed to advocating for state and federal policies that make SNAP more accessible and more effective for our neighbors.

Convenience

What We Heard

Convenience matters to our neighbors, and we learned that nearly 20% of those surveyed have trouble accessing free groceries because of transportation. Additionally, more than half of individuals said that it is somewhat or very challenging to find a site open during the hours and days they need.

What We Are Doing

We are still trying to figure this one out! NTFB will encourage its partner agencies to analyze hours of operation. Perhaps food pantries that are near one another can work together to ensure they are offering a variety of days and times for grocery pick up.

Select partners have piloted home delivery options. This is a great solution, but it is often too expensive for nonprofits to sustain. We are keeping an eye out for innovative approaches to this challenge.

We will also continue to talk to local government officials and transportation providers about this and advocate for better transportation access for our neighbors.

What’s Next

The North Texas Food Bank and its partners want to thank everyone who took the time to give us their feedback, and to Starbucks for their support of this survey. We will return to our partners for another round of surveys later this year, so that we can keep improving.

Since 2016, Starbucks has been committed to addressing hunger in the communities it serves through its innovative FoodShare program and ongoing hunger-relief efforts, helping to provide more than 50 million nourishing meals to the Feeding America network of food banks.

As a next step in the company’s efforts to fight hunger and strengthen the communities it serves, Starbucks donated $1.7 million in support of their annual Equitable Food Access Grant—bringing their total investment to $5 million to 16 partner food banks since 2021. The grant will continue to help increase access to nutritious food among households with individuals who are Black, Indigenous, and People of Color residing in communities experiencing high food insecurity rates.

The Feeding America Client Survey will help the NTFB understand and address equity in food access among our neighbors.

Natalie Markham is the Strategics Initiatives Manager for the North Texas Food Bank.