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Tarrant Area Food Bank giving away half the regular groceries due to low food supply
The Tarrant Area Food Bank is burning through more than $1 million every month, and it's now giving people less food because donations are down. Each car receives a 50-pound box of food with essentials like milk, bread and fruit. But it’s roughly half of what the food bank would typically provide.
FORT WORTH, Texas - Food costs are hitting food banks hard.
The Tarrant Area Food Bank is burning through more than $1 million every month, and it's now giving people less food because donations are down.
With inflation at a 40-year high, many families in Tarrant County are struggling to make ends meet.
Wednesday, at Fort Worth's Herman Clark Stadium, people in thousands of cars lined up hours early determined not to miss out on a grocery lifeline from the TAFB.
The TAFB helped people like Diana Dominguez, a first-timer with three hungry kids at home.
"Little bit of needed a little bit of help, yeah," she said.
Even repeat customers like Donald Shaw still new to needing the help. His first time asking for food was just last month when it became too difficult to afford rising food costs on a fixed income.
"This really help me on my bills," he said. "That way, I can spend less on food and apply my income to my utilities and such."
But even with Emery Ngatcha’s job at a Fort Worth manufacturing company and his wife as a sixth-grade teacher, it’s still a struggle to keep food on the table for their five children.
"What we earn is not enough for the whole family," he said. "So we have to come and get some help."
Each car receives a 50-pound box of food with essentials like milk, bread and fruit. But it’s roughly half of what the food bank would typically provide.
Back in June, FOX 4 filmed these nearly empty warehouse shelves typically well stocked with donations from 170 retail partners like grocery stores.
Two months later, the food bank says it’s still in a precarious position, spending over a million dollars a month trying to buy enough food to support local families.
A spokesperson says that’ll likely be the case until the end of the year.
Roughly 60-70 volunteers are running Wednesday’s operation.
"I have a really good feeling about what they are doing," Ngatcha said. "And I’m just going to ask God to bless them for what they are doing."
Looking forward: the food bank is planning some back to school events. They have been pushing their agency partners to step up and host smaller events within neighborhoods because the need is there rather than large scale ones like this one.