Nationally, tens of millions of people are struggling to feed themselves.
Artisan Arthur Ferrazas of Dallas was one of the first people in the line, roughly three hours before volunteers began handing out boxes. He has two children to eat, he said, but work has been dedicated.
“It means a lot. It’s a little help. I think it’s going to help us a lot,” he said. “My wife is sick right now, but not with the virus, so that’s why I’m here.
Another Dallas resident, Pauletta Johnson, who requires a steady income to care for her grandchildren, came for Free as a rule for breakfast.
“It helps feed the grandchildren,” she said. “I do not have the money to buy some of the things I need.”
‘We’ve seen a lot of zeros’
The U.S. Department of Agriculture requires food bank recipients to fill out a short form, with one blank asking about their current income, Hawthorne explained.
“We’ve seen a lot of zeros,” she said. “Food is one of those items that is easy to cut from a budget. You have to make your mortgage payments. You have to make that car payment, so food becomes a choice for many families.”
Along with dairy and products, recipients also receive boxes full of cans, noodles, spaghetti sauce, peanut butter, rice, trail mix and even a few recipes for those who are not so culinary inclined, she said. A family of four took 100 kilos of food home on Tuesday, she said.
Nearly 10,000 boxes will be distributed at the end of the day, Hawthorne said. Any remaining boxes will be distributed to the food pantries of partner agencies, she said.
Recently, the North Texas Food Bank distributed one million pounds of food a week.
Hawthorne and the volunteers worked late into the night Monday night as a fleet of trucks with thousands of boxes crashed into a barren Dallas parking lot.
“These distributions really show what the need is and how many of our community members are just one salary hungry,” she said. “We know the need is there. We know it’s great.”
“She leaves the house almost every morning at 5.30am to go to work and does not return until lunch. Even after she gets home, she is on the phone and on her computer, she looks worried. During this pandemic has it was too bad to stay sensible, “the young man wrote.
“I’m sad that not only can food find stress for people, but I’m also glad the North Texas Food Bank is helping as many people as they can.”
A problem all over the country
Food banks are also struggling, Fitzgerald said. Since the pandemic, Feeding America’s demand has picked up 50% in the same period last year.
“The economy is not yet back to where it needs to be so people can work and feed their families,” she said. “This will still require extra important federal and state support.”
CNN’s Dakin Adone contributed to this report.
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