Hundreds Line Up In Fort Worth For Mobile Christmas Food Bank
FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) - As we inch closer and closer to Christmas, more than 1,200 families in North Texas were able to bring home dinner this holiday season.
Hundreds of families lined up in their cars outside of Herman Clark Stadium for Tarrant Area Food Bank's holiday mobile food distribution.
Some people even showed up early in hopes of getting a good spot in line.
"My dad has been coming out here for, what a year now? Yeah, about a year now," Fort Worth resident, Jeremy Tipton said.
Some people lined up early because they said they started to rely on events like this for help.
"It's just nice, you know," Tipton said. "To be blessed with a little extra food around the holidays."
Its extra special for Tipton, he said, because it's been hard leading into Christmas since he hasn't found a new job yet.
"I lost my job last year, so I haven't been working, and it's been a little bit of a rough going," Tipton said.
Volunteers are trying to make sure people get everything they need ahead of the Christmas holiday that included 170 pound boxes with fresh produce, chicken and drinks for each family.
"We want to ensure that we had a special distribution here at Herman Clark Stadium," said Shagranda Traveler, the Tarrant Area Food Bank's executive vice president of advocacy and communications.
Traveler said they fed over 10,000 families this past Thanksgiving, so they added this giveaway for the growing need.
"This is certainly an important time for a lot of families," Traveler said.
During this season of giving, this event provides joy for North Texas in need.
"It definitely helps, definitely," Tipton said. "It's always good to know where you next meal is coming from, you know."
TAFB said it coordinated these events to ensure families have a nice meal, so no identification or documentation was required.
There was also no limit to the amount of families per car that received food. They also had their resources, education and delivered (RED) bus to help qualify people for social services like Medicaid, SNAP Benefits and other programs available.
The food bank also noted they are looking for more volunteers to help with events like this as they head into the new year.
