Christmas Comes Early for North Texas Food Banks

Denton, Texas — Merry Christmas rolled into North Texas this week in the form of an 18-wheeler loaded with donated food and household goods from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints earmarked for local food pantries. Among the charities benefitting are Denton Community Food Center, Neighbors Nourishing Neighbors, Christian Community Action, Grand Prairie United Charities, and New Beginnings Church, serving approximately 7,360 families a month.

“We don’t usually get large deliveries like this- maybe once or twice a year. So, this is very welcome,” said Tom Newell, DCFC Board Chairman. “Supplies have been challenging over the last 18 months. If you look inside, you’ll notice all of our upper racks are empty which would typically be full of our backstock. But we are almost at ‘just in time.’ What we bring in this week goes out this week, and we don’t have a lot of backstock anymore. This type of delivery today with shelf-stable stuff is pretty rare and allows us to get some much-needed inventory.”

“The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has had an association with Denton Community Food Center for at least 5 years,” said Abraham Benavides, Denton Stake Counselor of The Church of Jesus Christ. “How wonderful it is to belong to a church that works with other organizations like [DCFC] to care for others. I’ve seen the faces of the people receiving the food. It’s just wonderful that [our donations] are being used to help the poor, and that’s what we’re doing here today.”

“These food banks receiving this shipment today were selected because of their ongoing relationships with local Church of Jesus Christ leaders and members who regularly provide volunteers and goods,” said Terri Kofoed, a Denton area JustServe assistant communication director. “Most of these organizations have ongoing volunteer opportunities posted on JustServe.”

JustServe.org is a website connecting organizations in need with volunteers seeking to enhance the quality of life in the community.

“We select food banks that have not recently participated in a Church of Jesus Christ food truck delivery, thereby sharing the opportunity to serve others throughout many North Texas communities,” said Kofoed.

Working together to serve the community unifies charities across North Texas

“It’s really important to have relationships with [other charities] so we can help the people who are really in need,” said Eunice Jimenez, Assistant Executive Director of Grand Prairie United Charities. “In our food pantry, we serve between 30 to 60 families per day. So, this help today will really impact our families in Grand Prairie. We appreciate it so much.”

Robert Daleo, Executive Director of Neighbors Nourishing Neighbors, agrees, “I think we’re all blessed with not only the neighbors who need our services but the neighbors who volunteer. Everyone comes together year-round, not just during this holiday season, as food insecurity continues to grow here in North Texas. It’s everyday people who just need a helping hand.

“It fills my heart with so much joy that all of us here come together as neighbors and really provide these services for folks in need.”