The University of North Texas at Dallas and the North Texas Food Bank joined together to hold a drive-thru food pantry on the UNT Dallas campus on Tuesday, March 31, to aid families in need during the COVID-19 crisis.

Volunteers from UNT Dallas provided 3,750 boxes of food to approximately 1,200 households. A line of cars began to form well before the 9 a.m. start, and soon snaked for two miles all the way south of I-20, and along the feeder roads. 

“We are grateful to partner with the North Texas Food Bank and come to the aid of our local communities during this time of dire need," UNT Dallas President Bob Mong said. "I want to thank our UNT Dallas students, staff members and alumni who bravely volunteered to come to campus and helped the drive-thru food pantry run so efficiently.”

See our photo album of the event:
https://untd.smugmug.com/20031-Covid-19-food-pantry/

Because demand is so great for food during these challenging economic times, a second drive-thru food pantry in the coming weeks is currently under discussion.

The service is strictly drive-thru. Safety precautions have been established to limit any physical interaction with NTFB and UNT Dallas volunteers. The service is available to UNT Dallas students, faculty, staff and all community members throughout Dallas County. Volunteers load boxes of food staples in the trunk and securely close it.

The drive-thru food panty is an extension of the “Feed Your Body, Fuel Your Brain” campaign that UNT Dallas and the NTFB held in January and February in on the UNT Dallas campus. That program delivers fresh produce to students, faculty, staff and community members on the first Tuesday of each month. That program is on hiatus until the Dallas County shelter-in-place order is over and the university reopens.