Goodfellows will provide holiday meals amid the pandemic. Here’s how to apply for one

The process has changed, but the mission remains the same as it has for 108 years.

In 1912 the Star-Telegram sponsored its first Goodfellow Fund. Since then, with the help of many volunteers and donors, Goodfellows has been providing families and children with holiday cheer.

The program survived the Spanish Flu outbreak. More than a century later, Goodfellows is going strong amid another pandemic.

And there is still plenty of time to apply for a holiday meal kit. Because of COVID-19, even Tarrant County families without children in school may apply for help if they are facing hardships.

Executive Director Richard Greene said approximately 4,000 applications have been received via goodfellowfundfw.com. Applicants may send a note through the contact tab on the website or submit a request in writing to Goodfellow Fund, PO Box 1870, Fort Worth, TX, 76101.

“We hope to receive 6,000-plus,” Greene said. “We can still serve more needy families in Tarrant County.”

The meals, which will be distributed in mid-December, include a smoked turkey and/or ham and four boxes of food. In all, it’s approximately 90 pounds of food.

Distribution will be Dec. 15 at Dickies Arena on Dec. 17 at Globe Life Field.

The charity usually conducts in-person interviews to select recipients of a $50 gift card for clothes for kids. But the pandemic makes that impractical. So this year folks will receive an approval letter in the mail with details (day, date and time) about how to pick up the food.

The distribution will be a no-contact event. Volunteers working through the Tarrant Area Food Bank will fill the boxes of food and distribute the meal.

Greene said plans began in January for what he and others thought would be a traditional holiday season for the organization. Most pieces were in place by February and March.

Then the coronavirus pandemic hit. Instead of shutting down, however, Goodfellows simply made a few adjustments and carried on. The task of conducting the usual personal face-to-face interviews was no longer safe, especially with many, if not most, of the 100 volunteers in the organization being in the “at-risk” age.

“In keeping with the missions of past, the Goodfellow Fund wanted to continue to have a presence and continue to present a face in the community this holiday season,” Greene said. “The website infrastructure for the Goodfellow Fund was in place to be able to quickly change our mission.”

And so, with an opportunity to partner with the Tarrant Area Food Bank and Tom Thumb/Albertson’s, Goodfellows is still able to serve needy school children and their families with a holiday meal — along with many other citizens.

If you do not have a child enrolled in school, send a message with your name, address, ZIP code, phone and email address through the “contact” tab on the Goodfellow Fund website.