Tarrant Area Food Bank announced a new initiative, placing an emphasis on holistic services with its North Texas partners while sunsetting support for certain mobile pantry agencies. The More Than Food initiative aims to connect residents to healthcare, employment, and financial support resources.

Changes in Partnerships

The nonprofit is ending partnerships with certain food pantries, including mobile units, snack programs, and those with limited capacity or infrequent hours of operations. Mobile units distributing food within 1 mile of a brick-and-mortar location will no longer be partners.

Agencies distributing food less than once a week or not providing residents with food choices will also no longer be supported. Tarrant Area Food Bank is asking brick-and-mortar operations to absorb additional mobile pantries and move to a choice pantry model.

Continued Support

The organization will continue to partner with mobile food pantries in rural areas where there are no other options to provide food to the community within a 1 to 3 mile area.

First United Methodist Church of Hurst’s mobile food pantry was one of about 125 partners directly affected by the food bank’s restructuring. Church leaders emphasized they “remain committed to addressing food insecurity through our backpack ministry, the village garden, and other community outreach efforts.”

Original reporting: Fort Worth Report — read the source article.