Thursday’s North Texas Food Bank mobile pantry was the third one held on the UNT Dallas campus in the span of one month, and put the crisis into perspective: Many southern Dallas residents are in dire need of food during the COVID-19 pandemic.

With each mobile food drive, the line of cars has grown longer. For four hours Thursday, the Texas National Guard loaded boxes of food into cars. Through the three food pantries, the NTFB estimated that approximately 200,000 pounds of food was distributed to nearly 4,000 households. People are hurting. The CBS Evening News (6-minute mark) used coverage of Thursday’s food pantry as part of its report on rising unemployment and the growing need for food across the country.

Families in our local communities are depending on food pantries during these challenging times, and UNT Dallas will continue to partner with the NTFB on at least a monthly basis.