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Parker County

New food bank location to serve seven counties

Parker County location adds to mission of Tarrant Area Food Bank

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A seed planted in January of 2021 has grown to maturity with the recent opening of the Tarrant Area Food Bank West in Parker County.

Located near the entrance of Canyon West Golf Course, the new 20,000 square foot facility will share in the process of feeding more than one million people each week.

TAFB overall serves 13 counties. The new TAFB West will assume seven of those: Palo Pinto, Parker, Erath, Hood, Somervell, Hamilton, and Bosque Counties. The TAFB distributes food through many partner agencies, including the Center of Hope here in Parker County.

At its grand opening on April 14, TAFB President and CEO Julie Butner said “Tarrant Area Food Bank has a network of over 400 partner agencies in our 13 counties, and only 36 in this part. So we are in need of establishing more partner agencies to help serve the more remote and rural communities of our counties.”

Butner said the new TAFB West will operate a bit differently from the primary location in Fort Worth.

“We’re offering kind of a hybrid model here,” Butner said. “We have fresh produce that we’re growing, not only to teach people how to grow their own food, but to help them learn about what to do with that food that they grow.”

The look of hunger

Butner said that picturing hungry people in the past conjured up images of people who were skinny and emaciated.

“And if you think about someone who is hungry today, what comes to mind? Somebody who is obese,” Butner said. “That’s largely driven by our food supply. If you think about the food today that is inexpensive, and readily available, it’s fast food, it’s convenient food, it’s food that you find at the gas station, and so many children who are growing up today have never seen fresh produce.”

Butner said the learning garden at the facility will help people learn not only how to grow the food, but also how to prepare it and consume it.

“That’s part of the hybrid,” she said. “The other part of the hybrid is the Mission Market. We don’t have a market at our location in Fort Worth.”

The Mission Market, donated by H-E-B, is an area where people can go to shop for food. Color-coded tags will guide the shoppers to more healthy choices.

On the other side of the facility is an apartment-sized kitchen that will train partner agencies on how to train the community.

In the back of the facility is a 4,000 square foot refrigerated room and a 4,000 square foot freezer.

State Senator Drew Springer said that in the midst of rapid growth like that Parker County is experiencing, there is always a subset of people who need help.
State Senator Drew Springer said that in the midst of rapid growth like that Parker County is experiencing, there is always a subset of people who …
Congressman Roger Williams addressed the gathering, saying no one should ever go hungry in Parker County,
Congressman Roger Williams addressed the gathering, saying no one should ever go hungry in Parker County,
Julie Butner, president and chief executive officer of the Tarrant Area Food Bank, welcomed the crowd that gathered for thhe grand opening of the west Parker County facility on April 14.
Julie Butner, president and chief executive officer of the Tarrant Area Food Bank, welcomed the crowd that gathered for thhe grand opening of the …

The beginning

Weatherford Mayor Paul Paschall said the original seed that began the new facility began was call from then Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price early in the CAVID-19 pandemic.

Price told him the TAFB needed more space to store food and commodities.

“Little did I know that in reality they were planning to invest in our community and to serve six other counties from our community,” Paschall said. “The Tarrant Area Food Bank has a long standing history of serving the citizens of Weatherford that need assistance, we’re excited about their commitment to deepening their roots in our area.”

From that beginning a newly-constructed warehouse was found to house the facility, and construction began in early 2021 (see The Community News, Jan. 22, 2021).

The new facility serves 200,000 meals per week to a heavily-rural population.

Congressman Roger Williams, whose wife, Patty, serves on the TAFB board, said “Nobody should ever go hungry in this county or anywhere, and they’re not. Rural areas, as many of you know, have been underserved in many, many things.”

State Senator Drew Springer said he had recently attended a meeting where he was told Parker County was the fastest-growing county in the country.

“But you know what that means?” Springer asked. “When you have people moving in, there’s always a subset of the population that needs help. Maybe they’re not making a living wage. Maybe they have lost a spouse to death. Maybe they are recently divorced. Maybe they have a disability, and unexpected accident, and suddenly, that paycheck doesn’t carry. And that’s why we’re here.”

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