Tarrant Area Food Bank closes for Veterans Day. Will distributions be affected?
The Tarrant Area Food Bank will be closed for Veterans Day, but residents in need of food support will still get the help they’re looking for, leaders of the food bank said.
Since the government shut down on Oct. 1, the food bank has doubled its operations to provide enough to its partnered food pantries trying to meet the extra need. The elongated shutdown is causing Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participants to miss out on food stamps, and even more people are turning to food pantries.
In the 13-county area Tarrant Area Food Bank serves, there are 11,500 SNAP users. Roughly 8,000 of those are in Tarrant County alone.
Though the food bank is doubling operations and looking to the community for more support, Jared Williams, a vice president for the food bank, said there’s “no way food banks can replace” SNAP.
The food bank is usually closed Saturdays and Sundays, but next week it will not reopen until Wednesday due to the holiday. This week, the food bank will stay open through Saturday in preparation for the long weekend.
Williams said because Tarrant Area Food Bank’s partners order ahead of time for each week, there “shouldn’t be major disruptions.”
The best way to find nutritional assistance is through the Find Food Map at tafb.org/find-food. For other resources, residents should call 211.
In order to support the food bank, Williams recommends donating monetarily since the food bank can stretch dollars further through buying from wholesalers. Each dollar donated can equal five meals.
To donate in other ways, including through food drives and volunteering, visit the Tarrant Area Food Bank website. Williams said H-E-B is also contributing $250,000 in a community match program, so every dollar counts.