The Impact Of COVID-19 On Food Insecurity In Denton County (And how Denton Community Food Center is ‘securing’ the gap)
On the ladder of self-sufficiency, food is the first rung – the most basic human need.
If you don’t have food, you don’t have survival.
Imagine you wake up tomorrow and find your kitchen cabinets and refrigerator emptied of food. You go out to the car, which coughs to a start, and the gas needle promises to trigger the empty light at any moment. Knowing your kids don’t have access to school lunch — again — and worrying how to replace that sandwich when you hear their stomachs growl, you catch the bus and head to Kroger.
Only this time, it's completely gone. All that’s left is a Dollar General, which turns out to be somewhat good news as you look in your wallet to find your cash is limited, and your bank account even more so. You cobble together the closest thing possible to a “healthy” meal from the fluorescent freezer cases, then catch the bus to work.
After working all day, you lay your head down exhausted, grateful to have managed to feed your family but already filled with anxiety about what awaits you tomorrow.
This is a day in the life of far too many of our neighbors… 1 out of 5 to be exact.
21% of Denton County experiences this exact food insecurity on a daily basis.
It is no surprise that the Coronavirus has disrupted nearly everyone’s lives in some way. But for some, the challenges of survival have outweighed the inconvenience.
Inside Denton Community Food Center
Denton Community Food Center (DCFC) is the largest food pantry in the northern Denton County area providing food assistance to families in 21 cities, 31 different zip codes, and stretching from Decatur to the Collin County line.
That’s a lot of mouths to feed.
Thirteen years ago, DCFC mainly provided food assistance to the unemployed population. But with the population growing, and cost of living increasing, it’s now the underemployed, or “working poor”, who find themselves unsure of where their next meal will come from.
As our economy slows with the hit of the Coronavirus outbreak in North Texas, the amount of hunger insecure families is even greater.
Denton Community Food Center’s Response
“If you think you need food, we will help you.”
In light of the increased need for food assistance due to COVID-19, DCFC has partnered with Sower of Seeds to provide nightly meals to kids aged 3-18, and collaborates with Denton Hunger Coalition to feed 300 families once a month. Additionally, they’ve facilitated two mobile pantry drive-thrus specifically in response to the need COVID-19 has produced.
Volunteers distributing food at the Denton Community Food Center during COVID-19.
With about ½ of their volunteer force out of commission, Denton Community Food Center has had to adjust their schedule and reduce operating hours.
Since the Coronavirus outbreak in North Texas earlier this March, they are now only open two days a week for a two hour period. Additionally, they’ve gone from assisting 30-35 families a day, five days a week, to 60-80 families two days a week.
In the three weeks since this restructure, Denton Community Food Center has served 2461 people (totaling 1459 adults and 1002 children).
Surprisingly, 60% of these people are first timers to the food pantry, a shocking increase from the average 10-15% of clients knocking at the door for the first time. With so many people losing jobs, and at the bottom of their savings, people are unsure where to look for their next meal.
And it doesn’t look like the trend is slowing any time soon.
Help Has Come In Unexpected Ways
With such high demand for certain goods, getting their hands on necessary pantry items is a challenge.
So how is Denton Community Food Center able to serve their growing clientele with only operating 2 hours a day, 2 days a week?
The answer is four-fold.
Truckers
When the economy tanked in 2008, many trucker drivers lost their trucks and became clients of food pantries in order to feed their families.
These same truckers, humbled by their experience are now able to give back. When distribution centers allocate damaged, rejected, or disproportioned food items (about 40% of food produced in the US) to be sent to the dumpster, these drivers advocate for the items to be sent to pantries such as Denton Community Food Center.
Probation Workers
With many businesses temporarily closed during the wake of COVID-19, many people are unable to fulfill their mandated probation hours.
Surprisingly, this has been an unexpected source of revenue for Denton Community Food Center.
Probationers have been able to buy hours (through making donations) in order to fulfill their mandated requirements, and currently, DCFC receives two to five people a day.
Furloughed City Employees
The City of Denton has arranged for furloughed city employees to partner with local organizations during this crisis to be brought back on payroll. Being a win-win for both parties, Denton Community Food Center has reached out and partnered with a bilingual city employee to help translate and register clients during their two operating food pantry days.
Tarrant Area Food Bank
Denton Community Food Center is getting more bang for their buck.
With just a ten dollar bill, DCFC can purchase $70 worth of essential food items from Tarrant Area Food Bank (that’s a haul of 40-50 meals). At a much lower cost than shopping retail, and not being charged maintenance fees, it’s a much greater return on their investment.
The support of Tarrant Area Food Bank is crucial; if the supply were to suddenly stop, DCFC’s food supply would last only a mere two weeks.
However, with limitations on what Denton Community Food Center can buy, (as Tarrant Area Food Bank can only offer what they have during these inconsistent times) DCFC is aiming to partner with wholesalers specializing in food pantries.
“If you think you need food, we will help you.”
Food for Thought
The effects of your neighbor’s malnutrition and limited access to food directly impacts the vitality of the community in which you live.
“Adults don’t function well in our workforce if they are distracted by hunger, or stressed by the unknown of how to feed their family,” Tom Newell with DCFC explains.
When families live in food deserts and have limited transportation to markets that provide healthy and affordable food, their only option is fast food and low quality food items at stores like Dollar General. But for adults to be productive contributors in our community, they need to be properly nourished. And for many, this has to be taught.
Fully functioning people create a fully functioning community.
So Jump on the Food Wagon and Help
If the Coronavirus crisis has taught us anything it's this: we are all just one step away from needing help.
Both the affluent and middle-classes alike now find themselves in the shoes of the working poor. Eyes are being opened, hearts are being softened, and ironically our community has been brought even closer together.
Buy your neighbor a meal...or 40! - Give your $10 directly to Denton Community Food Center, and get $70 worth of groceries. (You won’t be able to make that happen at your local grocery store…)
Clean out your pantry - Soups, pinto beans, cereal, chili, spaghettio-s (or any ready to go pasta meat products) are hot commodities. Got any? Bring them over.
Waste not, want not - Denton Community Food Center owns their own building, is fully operated by volunteers, and donor funded. With very minimal overhead, every 98 cents of your dollar goes directly to food and food associated items.
It’s easy to turn a blind eye to the family struggling to keep their pantry filled and stomachs satiated.
It’s even easy to scoff at assistance programs…
...until you’re the one who needs it.
So are you ready to stand in the gap?