Walmart Foundation and Feeding America Grant is Helping NTFB Partners Rescue More Food

The grant money provided to four North Texas Food Bank partner pantries will increase access for neighbors facing hunger.

Four North Texas Food Bank partner agencies have expanded their capacity to pick up and store fresh, frozen and shelf-stable food from area grocers thanks to a Retail Agency Capacity Building Grant awarded to the NTFB by the Walmart Foundation and Feeding America^®.

The grant is part of a continuing, multi-year partnership to strengthen food banks and agency partners in rural communities and communities of color disproportionately affected by food insecurity. The grant focuses on enhancing retail rescue programs in which food is donated by grocers for pickup by food banks and agency partners. In total, $17 million was awarded to 20 Feeding America food banks through the grant, including $6 million that was generously provided by the Walmart Foundation.

“The North Texas Food Bank and its Feeding Network could not do what we do in the fight against hunger without the generosity of supporters like the Walmart Foundation,” says Trisha Cunningham, NTFB President and CEO. “Building capacity in our network means bringing new partners to the table, procuring new equipment and inspiring more people to join the movement to end hunger. This significant grant adds up to a meaningful increase in the amount of food our partners are making available to the 1 in 7 neighbors facing hunger in our community.”

In North Texas, the grant funds were given to Care Center Ministries, Christian Community Action, Chocolate Mint Foundation and White Rock Center of Hope.

“We love all our Walmart and Sam’s Club partners!” says Merideth DePriest, Care Center Ministries Director of Operations and Development.

Care Center Ministries received a 24-foot refrigerated truck that Meredith says will allow them to pick up grocery items from stores that are father away without worrying about the food spoiling in transit. She added that they love the variety of food they receive from Walmart and that the store’s team even donates other items to neighbors, such as bicycles, vacuums and fans.

At Chocolate Mint Foundation, which received a 26-foot refrigerated truck plus an electric forklift, Director Jammy Green said their relationship with retailers like Walmart is critical. With the truck, they’re able to pick up more food from stores, more efficiently. He added that the forklift will free volunteers from having to manually unload trucks and instead focus their time on interacting with neighbors being served.

“It’s all about commitment and relationships,” Jammy says.

With items received from the grant at White Rock Center of Hope, staff have been able to transform their pantry into a grocery store-like experience for neighbors who are selecting food while also preventing food waste thanks to added refrigeration. Grant money provided two produce coolers, a refrigerated merchandiser, a freezer merchandiser, iPads and accessories, plastic grocery carts, picking carts, gondola shelving and bins.

Director of Neighbor Services Kaylan VanPelt says before, the organization was using mismatched shelving with plywood toppers that were tough to clean and not user-friendly. With the new setup, she says their hope is that children selecting food with their parents won’t be able to tell the difference between a grocery store and White Rock Center of Hope.

“The baskets provide a normalcy and create a dignified and empowering experience for the neighbors,” she says.

And at Christian Community Action, grant funding went toward a 26-foot refrigerated truck and a produce cooler, which Pantry Supervisor Andre Poux says is easier to use and maintain.

“Neighbors enjoy the backlighting—it makes the produce easier to see,” Andre says.

The Walmart Foundation grants are meant to increase the number of retail partners and the capacity for storing food in historically under-resourced areas, recognizing that inequities have resulted in poorer outcomes for communities of color and rural communities.

“Local food banks are key to making retail food rescue programs successful and expanding access to healthy food for people in our communities, which is why it’s so important to invest in their ability to innovate and efficiently pick up food donations,” says Julie Gehrki, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at the Walmart Foundation. “The Walmart Foundation’s investment builds on our continued support of the Feeding America network as we work together to strengthen the charitable meal system and end hunger.”

For nearly 20 years, Walmart, the Walmart Foundation and Sam’s Club have revolutionized food banking and transformed retail rescue in partnership with Feeding America, local food banks and partner agencies to provide fresh, nourishing food to people facing hunger in communities nationwide.  To build and ensure sustainable capacity in local communities, Walmart Foundation has funded more than 200 vehicles to help with local food recovery efforts, invested in critical research to identify opportunities to capture more surplus food and provided millions of dollars in grants to build infrastructure to more equitably serve neighbors in need.  As Feeding America’s largest food donors, Walmart and Sam’s Club have donated more than 7.5 billion pounds of food since 2006. 

Over the last 20 years, Walmart, the Walmart Foundation and Sam’s have contributed more than 119 million pounds of food and nearly $3.5 million.