A Message from Leadership
Charting a Sustainable Future
Texas now leads the nation in hunger , with nearly 5 million people not knowing where they will find their next meal . The 13 counties served by the North Texas Food Bank in Fiscal Year 2024 have the fourth-highest number of food-insecure people in the country , with close to 778,000 neighbors facing hunger , and tragically , nearly 40 % of those are children . Texas often boasts of being bigger , but leading the nation in food insecurity is not a badge of honor we can proudly wear . It is unacceptable .
Although inflation is leveling out , the cost of many necessities remains higher than ever . Groceries alone are up 21 % since 2021 , and Texans in the lowest income bracket now spend up to 70 % of their income on food , rent and transportation , which leaves very little for anything else .
Knowing that unprecedented levels of hunger persist , we set our focus in FY24 on sustainability to ensure that we can continue to support our neighbors now and into the future . In the fourth year of our five-year Nourish North Texas strategic plan , we also continued moving to provide not just Food for Today but also Hope for Tomorrow through programs and partnerships that address the root causes of hunger , such as financial literacy and job skills courses , ESL classes and access to healthcare .
Trisha Cunningham
NTFB President and Chief Executive Officer
Along with our Feeding Network of nearly 500 partner pantries and community organizations , we provided access to 106.4 million physical nutritious meals in FY24 , which was the most in our history and a nearly 10 % increase from FY23 . We also provided access to nearly 20 million meals through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program ( SNAP ), thanks to the dedication of our Social Services Assistance navigators who help neighbors in completing their SNAP applications .
Working sustainably requires innovation . In FY24 , we launched a new FoodRx pilot program through which partner health clinics provide patients facing hunger with food prescriptions that give them regular access to produce and nutritious groceries . And we opened a Repack Room where volunteers take bulk goods and repackage them into smaller quantities .
NTFB is continuing our focus on sustainability in FY25 . Our Nourish North Texas strategic plan wraps up and we are focused on finishing strong while preparing to launch our next strategic plan . That plan will help us tackle hunger in our service area by using resources and data to ensure that we are providing food and services as effectively and efficiently as possible across the communities we serve .
Jerri Garison
NTFB Board Chair , FY23-FY24
All of this is only possible because of the generous support of you and our community . Thank you for your partnership as we strive toward a hunger-free , healthy North Texas .
Gratefully ,