More than 1,000 visit Las Vegas Trail pantry weekly. This woman kept it going amid COVID
Before the coronavirus pandemic hit in March, Ashley Mortimer was helping around 60 families a week who came to the food pantry at LVTRise.
Now more than 1,000 people come every week.
“We were absolutely surprised,” Mortimer said. “We didn’t know what to expect during COVID. We didn’t run out of food.”
Mortimer, a program director who came to LVTRise two years ago, embraced the challenges of helping residents living in the Las Vegas Trail neighborhood in west Fort Worth.
Mortimer said she scrambled to find resources. Many residents face poverty, crime, unemployment and a lack of educational opportunities.
Willie Rankin, executive director of LVTRise, who nominated Mortimer for recognition in the Star-Telegram’s Hometown Heroes series, described her as having a “servant’s heart.”
Hometown Heroes is sponsored by Lockheed Martin, which is providing $1,000 each to the 28 people selected by the Star-Telegram to be featured in the weekly series.
“Ashley interacts with the community in a calm and fulfilling way. She makes everyone feel welcome. It’s the welcoming attitude she has and the diligence in her work,” Rankin said.
Rankin praised Mortimer’s work with the food pantry and for quickly helping Las Vegas Trail residents find assistance with rent.
Mortimer also organized a backpack drive to help 700 schoolchildren and put together a socially-distanced trunk-or-treat event for Halloween, Rankin said.
LVTRise is working with the Tarrant Area Food Bank and with the Blue Zones project. Blue Zones is providing fresh produce once a week, Mortimer said.
Before Mortimer came to LVTRise, she was studying social work at UT Arlington, and she was an intern at Unbound Fort Worth, a nonprofit that supports victims of human trafficking.
Fort Worth councilman Brian Byrd said his wife Stephanie, who was the executive director at Unbound at the time, recommended Mortimer as a person who would do well working with residents in the Las Vegas Trail area.
Byrd helped form LVTRise, which is a collaboration and partnership of private companies, nonprofits and government agencies dedicated to helping people in the Las Vegas Trail area improve and revitalize their neighborhood.
“Ashley has been the heart of that organization,” Byrd said.
Mortimer stepped in before there was an executive director, he said.
“She is a servant leader. She will be there early. She will stay late. She will have a smile on her face,” he said.
Byrd said he is impressed with Mortimer’s attention to detail and her devotion to the people living in the neighborhood.
“She is just loved by the community. She spends time in their homes and in their apartments. Everyone knows her,” Byrd said.
Mortimer said she is dedicated to helping the people in Las Vegas Trail.
The pandemic brought many needs to the forefront such as people asking for diapers, baby formula, paper towels and cleaning supplies.
When asked about the biggest needs in the Las Vegas Trail area, Mortimer said many are concerned about evictions and housing. Although there are moratoriums, people are still receiving eviction notices, she said.
“We want people to know that we are the extra arm of support out there. People from our community have seen us out there during COVID. We thought for a while that our needs would slow down, but they haven’t let up,” she said.
This story was originally published November 15, 2020 at 5:45 AM.