Food Giveaway on Saturday, Nov. 23 Will Help Families with Thanksgiving Meals

UNT Dallas in collaboration with the North Texas Food Bank (NTFB) and Tom Thumb / Albertsons, will host a Thanksgiving food distribution for families in need on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. This event will take place on the UNT Dallas campus at 7300 University Hills Blvd. in southern Dallas from 9 a.m. to noon or until supplies last. Each participating family will receive a holiday turkey and approximately 60 lbs. of nutritious food. It is open to everyone in the community, as well as UNT Dallas students and employees.

“UNT Dallas-NTFB partnership exemplifies the university’s mission to strengthen communities. Together, we are committed to providing nutritional support to our students, employees and southern Dallas neighbors," said Dr. Warren von Eschenbach, UNT Dallas interim president. "We care deeply about their well-being and hope the food they receive at our monthly mobile pantries and this special Thanksgiving event helps them and their families during times of need.”

Participants in the mobile distribution do not need to register in advance but must have a vehicle for the drive-through event. Food will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis. While no identification is required, attendees will be asked to provide their names, family size, and zip code.

The event is a demonstration of "We Care," one of the five UNT System shared values exemplified by employees across all campuses and administrative offices.

A recent study highlights the urgency of the situation indicating that Texas has become the leader in food insecurity, surpassing California. With a staggering food insecurity rate of 16.4%, nearly 5 million residents are affected—over a third of whom are children. In NTFB’s 13-county service area, around 778,000 individuals face food insecurity, translating to one in seven people, with nearly 286,860 being children. Dallas County accounts for over 50% of NTFB's food-insecure population and ranks sixth in the nation for total food-insecure individuals and fifth for food-insecure children.

“Tom Thumb/Albertsons and UNT Dallas are teaming up once again with the North Texas Food Bank to spread holiday cheer and support our neighbors in southern Dallas,” said Trisha Cunningham, President and CEO of NTFB. “Our partners are deeply dedicated to combating food insecurity in North Texas. Their generosity is vital to our mission to bridge the hunger gap, especially during this critical season.”

A long-time ally of NTFB, Tom Thumb/Albertsons is committed to addressing local food insecurity through its Recipe for Change initiative. The company continuously champions innovative programs and partnerships to help break the cycle of hunger, donating millions of pounds of food annually to local food banks and pantries. Recently, Albertsons Companies announced $9 million in multiyear grants to three nonprofits dedicated to food security, with NTFB among the recipients.

“We have a long-standing commitment to hunger relief and are pleased to collaborate with the North Texas Food Bank and UNT Dallas in helping to ease the financial burden that the holidays present for many families,” said Christy Lara, Tom Thumb/Albertsons Director of Public Relations. “We are dedicated to fueling innovative programs that aim not just to feed our neighbors in need but also to help break the cycle of hunger.”

UNT Dallas has served as a critical partner of the North Texas Food Bank since 2020, regularly hosting mobile food distributions on campus alongside NTFB. Each month, UNT Dallas hosts a free, drive-through event to provide relief to students and the southern Dallas community members in need of support. Hundreds of students and employees volunteer for the mobile food pantries.

UNT Dallas also established the Trailblazers Care Pantry, an on-campus resource for students that offers non-perishable and perishable food items, hygiene products, and more to UNT Dallas students. The pantry also includes a Career Closet that provides clothing items to students to use for internships and job interviews.

Cunningham emphasized, “The holidays can be particularly tough for those struggling to make ends meet. Food is not just nourishment; it fosters connection, celebration, and time with loved ones. When it’s absent, the impact goes beyond hunger. The North Texas Food Bank and our partners strive to ensure people have the resources to connect with their loved ones.”

In addition to the Thanksgiving distribution at UNT Dallas, NTFB purchased and distributed approximately 30,000 turkeys through its network of about 500 food pantries and organizations. Neighbors seeking food assistance can visit  https://ntfb.org/our-programs/get-food-assistance/find-a-food-pantry/ to find a food pantry nearby that provides food and often other services, or they can find mobile food distributions across North Texas at https://ntfb.org/mobile-pantry/. Neighbors can also contact the North Texas Food Bank to learn about Senior Programs and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).  

The next mobile food pantry on the UNT Dallas campus is scheduled for Friday, Dec. 20, from 9 a.m. to noon or until supplies run out. The distributions will continue each month in 2025.