Tarrant Area Food Bank unites community to feed neighbors impacted by federal government shutdown

“Behind every statistic is a family trying to pay for housing, buy groceries, and keep the lights on,” said Julie Butner, President and CEO of TAFB. “When paychecks and SNAP benefits are paused, hunger isn’t. With help from H-E-B and local donors, we will do everything we can to keep families fed during the shutdown.”

TAFB’s 500+ hunger-relief partners are seeing increased demand as households lose access to essential benefits and income. Because SNAP typically provides nine meals for every one supplied by food banks, a suspension dramatically increases pressure on the charitable food network.

To help meet this growing need, H-E-B has committed $250,000 to match community donations, dollar for dollar, to help TAFB purchase and distribute food across its 13-county service area.

Impact at a glance

• SNAP suspension: More than 11,000 neighbors every day could be affected across TAFB’s service area.
• Federal employees and military: Up to 42,000 families in the region are losing federal paychecks.
• Baseline food insecurity: Even before this crisis, over 572,000 people, including 187,000 children, were food insecure in TAFB’s 13 counties. Those numbers are now climbing daily.

How the community can help today

• Find Food: Neighbors can locate nearby pantries or mobile distributions using TAFB’s Find Food Map at tafb.org.
• Donate: Every $1 provides 5 nutritious meals. Give today at tafb.org.
• Volunteer: Each volunteer hour helps produce 150 meals for local families.

“Tarrant Area Food Bank’s network is moving food out the door in real time,” Butner added. “Our community has always shown up for one another. With help from H-E-B and local donors, we’re doing everything we can to keep families fed during the shutdown.”