On, Tuesday, August 31,  more than 300 Hewlett Packer employees stuffed an estimate 2,500 backpacks with nutritous (and delicious!) food for the NTFB’s Food 4 Kids program. On top of all that hard work, Helwett Packer also generously donated $40,000. See a video from Tuesday’s event. Thanks Helwett Packer for a great day and for giving back!

HP Makes a Difference

Hunger Action Month!

For some of you, you may be wondering what is Hunger Action Month? Well, let me explain….

Hunger Action Month is a nationwide campaign during the month of September to mobilize every citizen to take action in the fight against domestic hunger. What that means is that we, along with our parent organization, Feeding America, provide all sorts of opportunities for people like YOU to give back, raise awareness, make donations, volunteer– or find whatever way you feel most comfortable in participating to help end hunger in North Texas.

So, we call this “30 Ways in 30 Days!”– we want you, families, and groups to take the the Hunger Action Pledge on our website: www.ntfb.org

Also, on our website, you will find 30 suggestions and ways that you can get involved. Host a bake sale! Write a letter to your Congressman or Senator! Find a way to make hunger in America a #1 priority.

Here’s where it gets exciting….

If our food bank gets enough people to take “the pledge” we could win a truck full of food from Feeding America.

So, sign up and spread the word. Let’s get excited!

On Wednesday, August 26th, MeLife came by the North Texas Food Bank to make a generous donation –$40,000!

NTFB’s Richard Amory, senior grant manager, and Colleen Brinkmann, chief philanthropy officer, met with MetLife’s Paul Torres, managing partner of New England’s Financial, a MetLife company, to talk about how the company’s donation will help NTFB’s mission to pursues a hunger-free community.

On behalf of the North Texas Food Bank, thank you MetLife!!

A big thank you to H-E-B / Central Market for partnering with us in our campaign to Help End Hunger!

Through thoughtfulness and generosity the Dallas and Plano Central Markets raised $15,000 for the North Texas Food Bank. In return, NTFB can now provide 60,000 meals to North Texans.

Thank you H-E-B / Central Market for partnering with the North Texas Food Bank year after year to impact your community.

And a  special thank you to Eddie Garcia and Danny Flores of H-E-B, and Aimee Deputy and Michelle Owens of Central Market for making this campaign possible!

 The Wizards of Waverly Place’s Jake T Austin, David Henrie & Sara Lee stopped by the North Texas Food Bank to donate 25K loaves of bread!

The young teen heartthrobs were very nice — in addition to the donation,  they stayed to chat about hunger in the DFW Metroplex and took a tour of our food bank.

Thanks, Jake and David, and Sara Lee for the generous donation and the fun visit!!

On Friday, August 20, 600 probation officers throughout Dallas County were thanked for their contribution to the “Can-Do!” program. Probation officers were recognized for reaching a program milestone by collecting 1 million cans of food and providing $14 million in volunteer time.

 Executive leadership, Jan Pruitt, President and CEO from the North Texas Food Bank (NTFB), and Julie Thomas, CEO of Volunteer Center of North Texas (VCNT), personally thanked the probation officers for their generous donation.

 In 2008, under the leadership of Dr. Michael Noyes, director of the Dallas County Community Supervision & Corrections Department, court ordered volunteers were allowed the option to donate cans to the NTFB and do volunteer work in the community, managed by the VCNT, as a requirement to alternative sentencing. This program created a great public – private partnership and a win for everyone!

Julie Thomas, CEO for the Volunteer Center; Commissioner John-Wiley Price; Dr. Michael Noyes; Jan Pruitt, President & CEO of North Texas Food Bank.

Dianne Bianchi is a Graphic Designer that became familiar with the NTFB through her passion for helping those less fortunate and her own struggles with hunger.

Recently, Dianne shared two stories of hunger with us. She has been involved with Dynamic Women Networking in Southlake for about a year and the group spent a day feeding hungry children in an underserved area. Through this volunteer work, she met two little boys who touched her heart because of their daily fight against hunger.

In her second story, Dianne tells of her life right after college. She was upwardly mobile, but she was still very hungry. “Those were my oatmeal days,” she says. Dianne knows firsthand what it is like to be hungry and to struggle everyday with making ends meet. It’s a story, she says, that is as relevant today as it was 35 years ago.

Dianne’s encounters with hunger are powerful and real and we cannot thank her enough for taking the time to tell these important stories. Please take a moment to share her experiences.

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Check out Dianne Bianchi’s recollections of Diego and Carlos.  

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Listen to Dianne’s personal hunger story, as well.

(Pictured: Justin Chatigny, one of the minds behind Full on Faith Week)

Full on Faith Week. One short phrase, one big idea.

This week I have had the delight of seeing our warehouse constantly filled with bright orange shirts and smiling faces of members of different faith-based organizations who want to make a difference and help the hungry.

To understand the importance of this week, first we need to understand how it became a Full on Faith initiative. Justin Chatigny lived in Houston for years and volunteered at a local organization to support the homeless in Houston streets until he moved to the “Big D.” Working for Grant Thorton, Justin met one of our board members, Jon Wolkenstein, and quickly became familiar with the Food Bank.

He said that it was difficult to find an organization that allowed him to work outside business hours but because the NTFB offers Service Saturday volunteer opportunities and other projects, he found an organization to share his volunteer expertise with. Justin said that he wasn’t expecting hunger to be such a large issue.  “While the hunger issue is well-documented, I’m not sure there is an appreciation for how widespread it is in DFW and how much can be done for so little money and time. I certainly didn’t know when I moved to Dallas.”

Justin is passionate about his faith and community so Wolkenstein put him in contact with our President & CEO, Jan Pruitt, who directed him to Chief Philanthropy Officer, Colleen Brinkmann. Along with Colleen, Justin worked side by side with other NTFB employees to create something centered around faith.

According to Justin, Full on Faith addresses two issues simultaneously. First, it raises awareness about a genuine need. Second, this week provides an avenue for people of faith to serve others- an imperative of most religions.

Justin, a marketer by trade, has been a part of the full on faith initiative from the beginning and this year marks the first annual Full on Faith Week at the North Texas Food Bank. I can’t wait to see what great things the following years of Full on Faith does to our community.

Big thanks to Justin from the NTFB staff- thank you for making the dream of Full on Faith a reality!

Check out the video about a day in the life of a North Texas Food Bank intern.

President and CEO Jan Pruitt talks about the economic devestation of hunger.

Monday Morning, Navarro County elected officials, churches, non-profit organizations and North Texas Food Bank Member Agencies came together for a summit on hunger at the Corsicana Public Library. NTFB’s goal was to help build bridges and awareness between organizations fighting hunger in Navarro County.

At the summit, a total of 56 people thought of ways to better help hungry people in their communities. Discussion between the Boys & Girls Club, the Salvation Army, Frost Community center, the Navarro County Food Pantry, and churches at the summit was both helpful and passionate. People stood up and told hunger stories of familiar faces and those suffering.

A representative from Frost Community Center explained why he felt compelled to help his community: he went on a mission trip to Mexico when he realized that he should be helping the people across the street first.

Still there were some that questioned if helping all hungry people is the right thing to do. A member of the summit argued that a lot of people receiving aid and benefits because of hunger misused that privilege to buy drugs or alcohol.

Pastor Steve Hayes of Grace Community Church reminded the crowd that hunger is not an issue that stands alone. We must remember it encompasses many things: addiction, homelessness, poverty and it’s important to keep the broader picture in mind.

Another woman stood up and added, “You know, you have to remember, most people are generally good.”

Overall, the hunger summit was a great success and awareness was exponentially increased. In fact, a hunger task force was tentatively formed and will host its first meeting this summer. The meeting will focus on planning logistics around starting and maintaining a legitimate hunger task force, consolidating available services to make it easier for potential clients to find assistance, and researching a shared database to help provide all service providers information about who has been served and what needs have not been met yet.

The Navarro County Hunger Summit helped get its citizens on the path to creating better ways to help the hungry, which, in turn, will help the community as a whole.