Dallas, TX, Oct. 25, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The North Texas Food Bank (NTFB) recognized top supporters and volunteers at its annual Golden Fork Award ceremony. The awards were presented to individuals, foundations and corporations that exemplify commitment and dedication to hunger relief in North Texas.
“Every year we honor our most compassionate hunger fighters who have given incredible support to help us battle food insecurity,” said President and CEO Trisha Cunningham. “To paraphrase from one of our hungry neighbors – a single mom and cancer survivor – who receives support from a local pantry, it takes a special person to give to people they don’t even know. The commitment of this year’s recipients is truly remarkable. Our mission could not be fulfilled without the generosity of individuals like these in our community.”
The following were honored at the ceremony:
Corporation of the Year: H-E-B
H-E-B has had a focus on hunger relief since the first day it opened its doors. As an NTFB Food Industry Partner, H-E-B has supported many food bank initiatives throughout the years with ongoing food donations, including reclamation loads, peanut butter for the Collin County Peanut Butter Drive and a truckload of cereal in honor of Hunger Action Month. H-E-B also supports initiatives, such as its Food Bank Assistance Program, annual Feast of Sharing holiday dinners and the Spirit of H-E-B trailer that provides on-site relief in areas devastated by natural disasters. And, H-E-B customers across Texas get involved as well, raising almost $700,000 last year, or 3 million meals, for 20 area Texas food banks. Over the years, H-E-B has donated more than 32 million pounds of food to Texas and Mexico food banks, equal to more than 25 million meals.
Hunger Ambassadors of the Year: Catie Enrico and The Pollock Company
Catie Enrico – Serving her community has long been a priority to Catie, who is Vice President of the Enrico Foundation, which honors the legacy of her recently deceased father-in-law Roger Enrico and his wife Rosemary. Her involvement with NTFB began in 2017 when she chaired NTFB’s annual Letter Writing Campaign to gain support for the Food 4 Kids Backpack Program. Today, the Campaign supports NTFB’s broader Feeding Children strategy and averages $500,000 a year – and has grown from 200 to 1,500 donors. In her first year as chair of the Campaign, it grew more than 69 percent from the previous year.
The Pollock Company –For more than 100 years, the Pollock company and family have given back to the North Texas community, including the fight against hunger. They’ve made critical investments of their time, resources and financial contributions. Their strategic investment established NTFB’s southern hub known as The Pollock Campus at Cockrell Hill Road. From Food Bank event sponsorships to providing trucks to help with the move to Plano, to volunteering to employee giving campaigns that resulted in record support, they prove their commitment to fighting hunger in every possible way.
Tom Black Volunteer of the Year: David Arrington
Dave is a servant leader who is often found behind-the-scenes at major NTFB happenings, often doing the least desirable work – moving supplies or sorting through surplus. And, he does it without being asked. He just knows what must be done and steps in. Dave made it a top priority to welcome volunteers to the new Perot Family Campus and led the way alongside staff in developing NTFB’s “Kernel” Program, designed to develop new volunteer leaders. His heart shines through his hands and his unwavering commitment to serving neighbors in need demonstrates his generous spirit.
Retail Partner of the Year: HelloFresh
HelloFresh, the leading global meal kit provider, was founded on the belief that everyone should have access to the best ingredients and knowledge on how to cook them. For the past four years, through weekly in-store pick-ups, HelloFresh has provided NTFB with fresh produce and other nutritious foods for food-insecure neighbors in North Texas. Even with their explosive growth, providing nutritious foods to neighbors in need remains a top priority. Since we established the partnership, HelloFresh has provided nearly 3.5M pounds of food to help feed hungry North Texans.
Lifetime Achievement Award: Lyda Hill, Lyda Hill Foundation
Lyda Hill and The Lyda Hill Foundation have shown transformational support for NTFB’s work in closing the hunger gap. They generously supported the capital campaign, and most recently, made an investment in the purchase of a warehouse management system to help ensure NTFB has the critical infrastructure in place to continue providing nutritious food in North Texas as long as needed. In 2015, the Foundation partnered with NTFB and Feeding Texas to research the utilization of secondary market fruits and vegetables produced in Texas. The study found that in Texas alone, food banks capture 1/5 of the more than 350 million pounds of available secondary market fruits and vegetables. This discovery led to the creation of the Collaborative for Fresh Produce, a co-op that helps with produce distribution to food banks throughout the state.
Jan Pruitt Legacy Award: Teresa Jackson, Founder and CEO of Sharing Life Outreach
This award honors NTFB’s late CEO Jan Pruitt, who had a passion for helping her neighbors in need. The award was created in her memory three years ago.
In 1992, Teresa was a single mother of three boys and needed help. She sought assistance from her local food pantry and was met with people who made her feel helpless and ashamed. She found her calling in this life experience. In 1999, she founded Sharing Life Community Outreach in Mesquite, a Food Bank Partner Agency now considered a well-respected non-profit organization that helps meet the needs of food-insecure North Texans. Sharing Life operates a client choice food pantry, provides rental and utility assistance, financial empowerment training, gently used clothing and medical equipment in a loving and compassionate environment. In 2016, Sharing Life became an official Food Bank hub, operating like a mini food bank and distributing food from NTFB to 60 food pantries.
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ABOUT THE NORTH TEXAS FOOD BANK
The North Texas Food Bank (NTFB) is a top-ranked nonprofit hunger-relief organization operating a state-of-the-art volunteer and distribution center in Plano— the Perot Family Campus. Last year, the Food Bank worked hard in partnership with member agencies from our Feeding Network to provide access to almost 77 million nutritious meals across a diverse 13-county service area— this means more than 200,000 meals per day for hungry children, seniors and families. But the need for hunger relief in North Texas is complex and in order to meet the need the NTFB is working to increase our food distribution efforts. Our goal is to provide access to 92 million nutritious meals annually by 2025. For more information, visit ntfb.org. For multi-media support of stories about NTFB, including videos, photos, logos and graphics, click here.
NTFB is a member of Feeding America, a national hunger-relief organization.
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