Our Community Pantry aims to curb hunger in Dallas

Over 1.4 million people call Dallas home; and for nearly 250,000, the uncertainty of where the next meal will come from is a daily struggle.

In 2014, to address the issue of hunger in Dallas neighborhoods, the City of Dallas partnered with In The City For Good, Trammell Crow Company, St. Philip’s School, Kroger and the North Texas Food Bank (NTFB) to open Our Community Pantry (OCP). OCP is a client choice neighborhood pantry, converted from a small pantry to model an open grocery store setting, which provides needed food staples to the South Dallas community.

The pantry marks the first time NTFB has operated a food pantry. Its normal operation in Cockrell Hill services some 250 regional food banks on a weekly basis.

“The North Texas Food Bank has been around for many decades and we have never operated a pantry on our own,” said Brad Wendling, OCP manager. “The Food Bank has always partnered with organizations that served others, so this community pantry was much needed new territory.”

Since its opening, OCP has averaged a distribution of 35,000 pounds of food, which has fed some 1,300 people. OCP services a myriad of people: children, families, single-parent households and seniors. These people enjoy a supermarket style shopping experience on a monthly basis.

For NTFB, adding a local distribution component to their massive food banking operation was an opportunity to reach more hungry Dallas residents.

“The Food Bank decided this was a great opportunity to actually see what it’s like to feed families directly and to have those experiences to understand what our partners experience every day,” said Wendling.

As with any new venture, time and user feedback fosters growth and best practices that will enable OCP to better feed the hungry of Dallas.

“Now that we’re in about five to six months we’ve learned a whole lot to help our network improve the way they operate,” said Wendling. “We know we’re making a difference, but with the hunger needs as they are, there is always more than can and should be done.”

See the video: Over 1.4 million people call Dallas home; and for nearly 250,000, the uncertainty of where the next meal will come from is a daily struggle.

In 2014, to address the issue of hunger in Dallas neighborhoods, the City of Dallas partnered with In The City For Good, Trammell Crow Company, St. Philip’s School, Kroger and the North Texas Food Bank (NTFB) to open Our Community Pantry (OCP). OCP is a client choice neighborhood pantry, converted from a small pantry to model an open grocery store setting, which provides needed food staples to the South Dallas community.

The pantry marks the first time NTFB has operated a food pantry. Its normal operation in Cockrell Hill services some 250 regional food banks on a weekly basis.

“The North Texas Food Bank has been around for many decades and we have never operated a pantry on our own,” said Brad Wendling, OCP manager. “The Food Bank has always partnered with organizations that served others, so this community pantry was much needed new territory.”

Since its opening, OCP has averaged a distribution of 35,000 pounds of food, which has fed some 1,300 people. OCP services a myriad of people: children, families, single-parent households and seniors. These people enjoy a supermarket style shopping experience on a monthly basis.

For NTFB, adding a local distribution component to their massive food banking operation was an opportunity to reach more hungry Dallas residents.

“The Food Bank decided this was a great opportunity to actually see what it’s like to feed families directly and to have those experiences to understand what our partners experience every day,” said Wendling.

As with any new venture, time and user feedback fosters growth and best practices that will enable OCP to better feed the hungry of Dallas.

“Now that we’re in about five to six months we’ve learned a whole lot to help our network improve the way they operate,” said Wendling. “We know we’re making a difference, but with the hunger needs as they are, there is always more than can and should be done.”

See the video: Over 1.4 million people call Dallas home; and for nearly 250,000, the uncertainty of where the next meal will come from is a daily struggle.

In 2014, to address the issue of hunger in Dallas neighborhoods, the City of Dallas partnered with In The City For Good, Trammell Crow Company, St. Philip’s School, Kroger and the North Texas Food Bank (NTFB) to open Our Community Pantry (OCP). OCP is a client choice neighborhood pantry, converted from a small pantry to model an open grocery store setting, which provides needed food staples to the South Dallas community.

The pantry marks the first time NTFB has operated a food pantry. Its normal operation in Cockrell Hill services some 250 regional food banks on a weekly basis.

“The North Texas Food Bank has been around for many decades and we have never operated a pantry on our own,” said Brad Wendling, OCP manager. “The Food Bank has always partnered with organizations that served others, so this community pantry was much needed new territory.”

Since its opening, OCP has averaged a distribution of 35,000 pounds of food, which has fed some 1,300 people. OCP services a myriad of people: children, families, single-parent households and seniors. These people enjoy a supermarket style shopping experience on a monthly basis.

For NTFB, adding a local distribution component to their massive food banking operation was an opportunity to reach more hungry Dallas residents.

“The Food Bank decided this was a great opportunity to actually see what it’s like to feed families directly and to have those experiences to understand what our partners experience every day,” said Wendling.

As with any new venture, time and user feedback fosters growth and best practices that will enable OCP to better feed the hungry of Dallas.

“Now that we’re in about five to six months we’ve learned a whole lot to help our network improve the way they operate,” said Wendling. “We know we’re making a difference, but with the hunger needs as they are, there is always more than can and should be done.”

See the video: Over 1.4 million people call Dallas home; and for nearly 250,000, the uncertainty of where the next meal will come from is a daily struggle.

In 2014, to address the issue of hunger in Dallas neighborhoods, the City of Dallas partnered with In The City For Good, Trammell Crow Company, St. Philip’s School, Kroger and the North Texas Food Bank (NTFB) to open Our Community Pantry (OCP). OCP is a client choice neighborhood pantry, converted from a small pantry to model an open grocery store setting, which provides needed food staples to the South Dallas community.

The pantry marks the first time NTFB has operated a food pantry. Its normal operation in Cockrell Hill services some 250 regional food banks on a weekly basis.

“The North Texas Food Bank has been around for many decades and we have never operated a pantry on our own,” said Brad Wendling, OCP manager. “The Food Bank has always partnered with organizations that served others, so this community pantry was much needed new territory.”

Since its opening, OCP has averaged a distribution of 35,000 pounds of food, which has fed some 1,300 people. OCP services a myriad of people: children, families, single-parent households and seniors. These people enjoy a supermarket style shopping experience on a monthly basis.

For NTFB, adding a local distribution component to their massive food banking operation was an opportunity to reach more hungry Dallas residents.

“The Food Bank decided this was a great opportunity to actually see what it’s like to feed families directly and to have those experiences to understand what our partners experience every day,” said Wendling.

As with any new venture, time and user feedback fosters growth and best practices that will enable OCP to better feed the hungry of Dallas.

“Now that we’re in about five to six months we’ve learned a whole lot to help our network improve the way they operate,” said Wendling. “We know we’re making a difference, but with the hunger needs as they are, there is always more than can and should be done.”

See the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJmcR8vwf_w

Our Community Pantry is located at 1502 Pennsylvania Avenue in South Dallas. For information, visit www.ntfb.org.