More than 9,000 seek Thanksgiving boxes from Tarrant Area Food Bank at AT&T Stadium
The Tarrant Area Food Bank distributed food to more than 9,000 families Friday morning at AT&T Stadium.
Julie Butner, president and CEO of the food bank, said 9,154 families received 85 pounds of food each, including turkey or chicken. The number is almost double what the nonprofit expected.
“We were totally surprised by the outcome,” Butner said. “The most we’d ever done was 3,000 families.”
Butner praised the community effort, which she credited for helping so many people.
There were 10 lines of cars, and volunteers made sure the lines moved quickly.
“People didn’t have to wait for a long time in their cars with their children,” Butner said. “They didn’t have to wait overnight.”
The Tarrant Area Food Bank collaborated with the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic, The Big Good, MW Logistics and the Baptist Ministers Union to put on the event.
“There is definitely a high need right now because of the coronavirus, the economic downturn and people losing their jobs. This is just a record year. We’ve never seen anything like this in our history,” Butner said.