North Texas Food Bank Launches New Strategic Plan During Mayor Day
Leaders from cities across NTFB’s 12-county service area learned about the current state of hunger and the food bank’s plan to meet the need.
Nearly 20 area mayors and council members joined the North Texas Food Bank on May 16 for its fifth annual Mayor Day.
Hosted at NTFB’s Perot Family Campus, the event provided mayors a look at how hunger is impacting their communities. NTFB President and CEO Trisha Cunningham also shared the food bank’s new strategic plan, Fulfilling Futures, which sets the bold goal of fulfilling 80% of the need in every ZIP code in NTFB’s 12-county service area over the next five years.
The goal, which was reached after nearly a year of work with Boston Consulting Group plus community stakeholders and NTFB partners, relies on data to more dynamically serve our neighbors and partners, for the long-term.
Trisha said the time is now to take an innovative approach as the number of people facing hunger in North Texas remains higher than even at the height of the pandemic. According to Feeding America’s latest Map the Meal Gap study, released May 16, Texas again leads the nation in hunger, with nearly 5.4 million people facing hunger.
“I said this last year, but I’ll continue saying it: Texas boasts of being bigger in many aspects but leading the nation in hunger is not a badge of honor we can proudly wear,” Trisha said.
What’s more, the DFW area served by NTFB and Tarrant Area Food Bank rank third among metroplexes in the U.S. for the number of people who are food insecure, behind only New York and L.A. And in the 12 counties served by NTFB, more than 744,000 people face hunger, including 1 in 5 children.
Because of the generous support of our community, NTFB has essentially met the need in North Texas in recent years. Through its Nourish North Texas plan, NTFB doubled its distribution over the last five years while also raising $234 million in funds, $300 million in donated food product and $50 million committed toward our endowment.
However, Trisha shared, as NTFB’s data capabilities grew, we learned that while we were essentially meeting the need at the county level, when analyzing the service area by ZIP code, there is more work that remains. According to NTFB’s Hunger Index tool, about half of the ZIP codes NTFB serves fall below that 80% fulfillment rate.
Fulfilling Futures aims to close that gap through five priorities:
- Increasing agility and efficiency in providing food access
- Evolving the partner network
- Expanding holistic approach to fighting hunger
- Building our data and analytics capabilities
- Ensuring financial stability for NTFB now and into the future
“This plan calls for us to do more than fill pantries. We will fulfill potential—fueling self-sufficiency, dignity and hope with every meal,” Trisha said.
Trisha also asked mayors to join NTFB in advocating at the federal level for anti-hunger policies that will support this plan, including SNAP benefits, which are at risk of being cut, and are essential in ensuring our neighbors have access to the nutritious food they need.
The event also served as the kickoff to NTFB’s annual Peanut Butter Drive, which will take place throughout the month of September.
Find out more about Fulfilling Futures here.