Tarrant Area Food Bank distributing food at Globe Life Field

ARLINGTON, Texas - The Tarrant Area Food Bank is hoping to serve thousands of families in need at Globe Life Field in Arlington.

The drive-thru food distribution got underway at 8 a.m. Tuesday with help from the 136th Air National Guard.

MORE: tafb.org

About 60 guard personnel based out of the NAS JRB in Fort Worth helped to direct vehicles into one of four lanes and then loaded about 100 pounds of food into each trunk.

People received fresh fruits and vegetables, milk, chicken and other items. The idea was to provide them with enough food for their family for about a week or two.

The food bank talked to FOX 4 about the sharp increase in demand recently from families in need.

“We've seen an increase of about 60 to 80% in demand. Our distribution is up 80% since March when the COVID crisis hit. A lot of people who've never needed our services before are here,” said Charles Boswell with the Tarrant Area Food Bank. “We have plenty of food and we’re doing a good job of meeting the need.”

The food supplies to make the event happen came from the federal government, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and a number of grocery stores and other suppliers.

The Tarrant Area Food Bank has been around since 1980s. It has organized dozens of distribution events since the pandemic started.

Tuesday’s event is the biggest distribution yet.

It runs through noon.