North Texas food banks in need of donations, volunteers as coronavirus leads to more families in need

Many North Texans have seen the empty shelves at grocery stores, and with less food in the stores, the Community Food Bank has less donated food to give out.

FORT WORTH, Texas - Many North Texans have seen the empty shelves at grocery stores, and with less food in the stores, the Community Food Bank has less donated food to give out.

At the same time, more families than ever are showing up, desperate to put a meal on the table.

The Community Food Bank in Fort Worth is stretched thin.

“We’re low in our produce and we’re almost literally out of our canned and dry goods,” said Regena Taylor, executive director of Community Food Bank.

Taylor said they have a dwindling supply room that is usually stocked with staples like rice, cereal, peanut butter, and milk.

Her go-to big box stores are not able to donate their usual load, as shoppers around the country have been stocking up.

“You go into any of the grocery stores, their shelves are empty. Their shelves are empty,” she said.

Taylor said that on average, 600 families line up each day.

This week they're averaging about 620 a day.

Keeping up hasn’t been easy, with half of their volunteer staff staying at home.

“Because of the virus and because of them being seniors, like me, they were told don’t come to work,” Taylor explained.

With schools closed, Fort Worth ISD, like most districts, has been offering meals for students.

It’s preparing to add more distribution locations.

Starting Monday, they’ll have 17 different campuses offering meals to go.

“Our police officers don’t have the luxury of working from home,” Fort Worth Police Officers Association President Manny Ramirez said.

Ramirez said that with restaurants shut down, he not only worries that officers won’t have a place to eat, but also worries about the local economy.

“My Fort Worth police officers are out there every day making sure communities are safe and we want to make sure that our business communities feel a sense of security too,” he added.

Starting Friday, the FWPOA will purchase hundreds of bulk meals for officers in every division from different restaurants around the city.

“We want to make sure that we’re targeting those businesses that historically step up when Fort Worth is in need, ‘cause we recognize that they’re in need,” Ramirez explained.

Click here for more information on how to help Community Food Bank.