Buckner and North Texas Food Bank provide holiday cheer to Wynnewood community
More than 300 South Dallas families served by the Buckner Family Hope Center™ at Wynnewood and the Kiest Recreation Center will have a full refrigerator for the holidays thanks to North Texas Food Bank (NTFB) and other collaborators. In addition, each family received a surprise gift of kitchen appliances.
On Dec. 7 at Kiest Park, Buckner and NTFB staff and volunteers helped families pick out fresh produce such as a variety of fruits and vegetables, milk and meat provided by NTFB. In addition, they were gifted with CRUXGG Digital Air Fryers and CRUXGG XL Searing Grills/Griddles. These appliances were provided through NTFB’s collaboration with Level Health Agency and POWERHANDZ Power To Give Foundation.
Staff and volunteers also helped spread the Christmas cheer by dressing in holiday costumes and playing festive music.
Erica Yeager, chief external affairs officer for NTFB, believes it is especially important to serve these families around the holidays.
“So many of our holiday traditions take place around the table,” Yeager shared. “Connections are formed with family and friends over a good meal. We want to make sure everyone in our community has access to that meal and a way to prepare it.”
While the provision of kitchen appliances and the spectacle made this event unique, the collaboration between Buckner and NTFB is a regular occurrence.
Cheryl Williams, director of the Family Hope Center at Wynnewood, said they host a monthly food pantry where NTFB provides fresh produce and non-perishable items for the community. Buckner and NTFB both invite local families, provide volunteers and organize event logistics.
“North Texas Food Bank has been an active and valuable collaborator in our efforts to serve our community. We are grateful for their generosity to the people of Wynnewood,” Williams said. “We are excited to continue this collaboration with North Texas Food Bank to better serve families of Wynnewood in 2023 and beyond.”
South Dallas is considered a food desert, which is defined by the United States Department of Agriculture as an area with a poverty rate of 20% or greater and where at least 33% of residents live more than one mile away from a supermarket or large grocery store. To help answer that demand, Buckner engages NTFB to help meet the food needs of the Wynnewood community.
“There are over 700,000 food insecure neighbors here in North Texas and it takes all of us at the table to address that issue,” Yeager added. “We know a nourished community is a thriving community, so it takes collaborative partnerships between organizations so we can all bring our best to the table to make sure that our hungry neighbors have access to the food they need to thrive.”
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