Robert Sturns, Executive Director, Workforce Solutions for Tarrant County

Rabbi Andrew Bloom, Rabbi at CAS

Mike Micaleff  

Dr. Don Mills 

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This special tasting event celebrates the spirit of the Parker County Peach Festival with peach-infused dishes, drinks, and desserts crafted by local chefs, as well as culinary students from Weatherford High School. Guests will also enjoy a behind-the-scenes tour of TAFB West, learn about our hunger relief efforts, and see firsthand how we are partnering with the community to ensure every neighbor facing food insecurity has access to nutritious food across our seven counties. Limited tickets and sponsorship opportunities are available at tafb.org/event/peaches-in-the-warehouse/.

The 2025 Peaches in the Warehouse event comes at a critical time. Summer is one of the hardest seasons for neighbors facing hunger, especially children and families who may have limited access to regular school meals when school is out. Without these reliable breakfasts and lunches, families facing food insecurity often stretch tight budgets as far as they can, yet still fall short of filling the gap and keeping enough food on the table. Hunger doesn’t take a summer break, and recent reductions to vital federal nutrition programs make it more important than ever for our community to rally together to ensure children, families, and seniors across seven counties — Parker, Palo Pinto, Erath, Somervell, Hood, Hamilton, and Bosque — have the nutritious food they need.

Based in Weatherford, Texas, TAFB West is the regional branch of Tarrant Area Food Bank, serving Parker, Hood, Erath, Palo Pinto, Hamilton, Bosque, and Somervell Counties. Through its network of local partner agencies, dedicated volunteers, and food assistance programs, TAFB West ensures access to nutritious meals and essential resources for those facing hunger. This branch supports TAFB’s mission to alleviate hunger and improve health in the communities it serves. For more information, visit www.tafb.org/west.

2025 Peaches in the Warehouse

Wednesday, July 9, 2025
4:30 to 7 pm
TAFB West
112 Winners Circle, Weatherford, TX 76087

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The Tarrant Area Food Bank (TAFB) proudly announces TAFB Kids Summer Camp. Rising fourth, fifth, and sixth graders will learn to cook, garden, and volunteer.

Julie Butner, the President and CEO of TAFB, said of the summer camp, “Our Kids Summer Camp brings the spirit of our Ready to Learn initiative to life — helping children build healthy habits, make new friends, and discover the value of giving back. It’s a meaningful option for families who want more than FUN, they want to enrich their child’s summer with purpose and learning.”

Photo courtesy of TAFB

Summer camp is a great way for kids to explore their world and who they are becoming. The TAFB summer camp gives campers the opportunity to learn about giving back to their community.

“Summer Camp at the food bank is all about discovery — whether kids are planting herbs in the garden, trying new recipes, or packing food for neighbors. It’s a one-of-a-kind experience and a great chance to learn, grow, and give back — all while having a blast!” said Viviana Mendez, manager of the Ready to Learn initiative.

Photo courtesy of TAFB

So if you have kids who are ready to grow, learn, and give back, click this link for more information!

TAFB Kids Summer Camp

Monday, July 14 through Friday, July 18
9 am to 1 pm
TAFB Main Campus
2600 Cullen St, Fort Worth, TX 76107

Lunch and snacks are provided!

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This weekly indoor market connects neighbors with fresh, locally grown produce, while providing support to local farmers through direct income. Shoppers can use cash, credit, or S/FMNP vouchers to purchase fresh ingredients and prepare healthy meals at home. More information is available at https://tafb.org/farmers-market/.

The Cowtown Farmers Market at Tarrant Area Food Bank’s AgHub is open to all every Thursday through July 31 from 4 to 6 pm, except for Juneteenth, June 19.

The Cowtown Farmers Market at the Tarrant Area Food Bank AgHub serves as a vital weekday evening resource, enhancing food access in the 76107 area. This farmers market accepts vouchers from the Farmers Market Nutrition Program (FMNP) and Senior FMNP, allowing eligible WIC families and eligible older adults to obtain fresh produce at no cost. The FMNP and Senior FMNP vouchers can be utilized by qualifying families with WIC and qualifying adults aged 60 or older, facilitating access to fresh produce and supporting local agricultural economies.

Additionally, thanks to the Junior League Diaper Bank, TAFB will provide diapers for eligible neighbors at no cost. TAFB remains dedicated to enhancing access to nutritious produce, improving health outcomes, and strengthening support for local farmers.

Tarrant Area Food Bank AgHub
205 N. Vacek St.
Fort Worth, Texas 76107

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The community relies on the Tarrant Area Food Bank throughout the year, but most acutely during school vacations, especially the summer break. Since the pandemic, TAFB has seen a rising trend in summer hunger due to families’ lacking access to school nutrition programs during summer break coupled with families grappling with skyrocketing costs of basic necessities such as housing, food and utilities a reduction in benefits assistance programs post-pandemic. As a result, the Tarrant Area Food Bank is doing everything it can to meet this rising need.

Photo courtesy of the Tarrant Area Food Bank

“We know first-hand that when families struggle, they first cut food budgets to pay for other necessities such as housing, childcare, transportation, and utilities,” Tarrant Area Food Bank President and CEO Julie Butner said.  “We the need support of our community now more than ever.”

In an effort to close this meal gap, the Tarrant Area Food Bank has been purchasing food at unsustainable levels, and the Food Bank is still not able to provide enough food to meet the current need. The Food Bank is rallying support from the public to help it close the meal gap and secure more food for neighbors facing hunger across its 13-county service area.

The public can help TAFB close this gap by making a donation to help secure more food for neighbors and families facing hunger. Donations can be made at: www.tafb.org/donate.

The post URGENT: Tarrant Area Food Bank Experiencing Shortages first appeared on Tanglewood Moms.

The ceremony will be held, Wednesday, February 28 from 8:30-9:00 am, followed by tours of the facility. The Ag Hub is an example of a public/private sector partnership, whereby the Sid W. Richardson Foundation made the lead private foundation gift and was joined by the City of Fort Worth, Tarrant County, and the Texas Department of Agriculture through the American Rescue Plan Act funds. Significant additional funding was contributed by the Amon G. Carter Foundation.

With the completion of the AgHub construction, the food bank has now begun receiving donated fresh produce via agreements with local farmers in the Tarrant Area and growers in the Rio Grande Valley and Arizona. The AgHub bolsters Tarrant Area Food Bank’s capacity to support regional agricultural supply chains by rescuing and redistributing fresh produce from farm to food bank to fork.

Feeding America, a nationwide network of food banks, considers the AgHub an innovative ending hunger solution to address food access and food insecurity, while supporting the US agricultural economy. Fresh produce processed at the AgHub will be sorted and prepared for distribution to over 500 TAFB local partner agencies and other food banks in the region, providing nutritious food to neighbors in need. Most importantly, the AgHub will ensure local farmers are supported and provide more fresh produce to nearly 500,000 neighbors who face hunger each year across Tarrant Area Food Bank’s 13-county service area.

The grand opening ceremony will be held at the AgHub, located at 205 North Vacek Street adjacent to TAFB’s Morris Foundation Distribution Center and Administrative offices on Cullen Street.  The Grand Opening Ceremony will begin promptly at 8:30 am and will feature remarks from several dignitaries including TAFB President & CEO Julie Butner, Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker and the Texas Department of Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller. Following the ceremony, TAFB will host a ribbon cutting and a tour of the facility, beginning around 9:00 am.  Media are encouraged to attend and cover the grand opening ceremony and tour of the facility immediately following. Details below. Please arrive by 8:15 am.

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The 2023 Holidays of Hope Gift Catalog allows people to give gifts of hope to those facing hunger in their own community via this online gift guide. In this year’s catalog, proceeds from purchased items will support both families facing hunger with holiday meals and benefit TAFB’s Ready to Learn educational initiatives which provide critical nutrition resources, programs and services to families in need with children.

Skyrocketing costs, particularly for food, continue to bring uncertainty for many families as to where their next meal will come from. The high cost of groceries is more than enough to stretch household budgets to the breaking point for millions of families. Thousands of our neighbors are turning to food banks for support. Further, the Tarrant Area Food Bank is preparing for increased demands for emergency food this holiday season with a looming potential government shutdown on November 17^th, just days before the holidays if Congress fails to pass a continuing resolution or appropriations bill to continue funding the government before the November 17^th deadline, including critical nutrition programs important that aid food banks across the Feeding America Network like TAFB in meeting the need this holiday season.

Gifts made through the catalog will greatly support TAFB’s mission this holiday season. “We know this year has been especially tough on our neighbors with children who are struggling to stretch their paychecks to cover their household’s most basic needs due to skyrocketing costs and inflation,” said Julie Butner, President and CEO of Tarrant Area Food Bank. “The Holidays of Hope Catalog offers a tangible way for people across our community to pitch in and provide a gift of holiday meals to our neighbors in need—in lieu of giving a more traditional holiday present to someone special in their life.”

Gifts range from healthy food items such as beans, produce, and chicken to support families facing hunger this holiday season. Once a donation is made, the honoree will receive a special e-card, notifying them of their gift. TAFB is inviting individuals across its 13-county service area to give the gift of fresh, healthy food and educational programs to their community on behalf of someone special in their life. The digital catalog can be viewed at www.tafb.org/gifts.

TARRANT AREA FOOD BANK (TAFB):  Empowering our community to end hunger and improve health.  Through our network of over 450 partner agencies, TAFB provides access to over 1M nutritious meals weekly to children and adults facing hunger. This work resulted in access to 40 million nutritious meals in fiscal year 2022. Learn more at www.TAFB.org.

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The foundation also coordinated an afternoon of service, as 3 DFW-based Metallica fan clubs came out to volunteer at the food bank distribution center in Fort Worth, Texas. Metallica just wrapped up two shows at AT&T Stadium on their M72 World Tour this weekend, the same site where the Tarrant Area Food Bank has fed the Tarrant County community and 12 other counties in their service area during the holiday season.

photo credit: Kreepin Deth via Wikimedia Commons

“We want to thank Metallica for this $35,000 gift, their on-going support of the Tarrant Area and for caring about people who may not know where their next meal will come, especially during these summer months across our 13-county service area” said Julie Butner, President & CEO of Tarrant Area Food Bank. “Food banks across the state are seeing increases in need due to inflation rising costs and we know this donation couldn’t have come at a greater time. Metallica are Hunger Heroes” she continued.

For more information about the Tarrant Area Food Bank and their mission to alleviate hunger, visit tafb.org . TAFB sends a big North Texas WELCOME & THANK YOU to Metallica, with best wishes on their world tour across the USA and Globe!

The post Metallica Makes Generous Donation to Tarrant Area Food Bank first appeared on Tanglewood Moms.

TAFB realizes there is an increased need for food support in the summer and is asking for greater community support throughout the summer to ensure no child goes hungry. TAFB will increase partner agency feeding programs, add of stops with our R.E.D. Buses, including an additional vehicle in Denton County and has planned special events over the summer to ensure no child goes hungry. The food bank continues to add more school pantries to serve up a healthy, hunger-free summer with hours of operations that meet the needs of single moms and families across their 13-county service area.   TAFB Summer Hunger support will culminate with several back-to-school mobile events in August.

“We need the community to step up by volunteering and donating if they can”, said Julie Butner, President, and CEO of the Tarrant Area Food Bank.  “Summer is hardest on A.L.I.C.E. (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) single moms with children who have been hit even harder this summer because of other benefit reductions.”  Monetary donations and even a call for volunteers is what the Tarrant Area Food Bank says is needed most.  Please visit www.tafb.org to show your support in serving up a great summer for children in need.

To underscore the importance feeding programs, TAFB will kick-off the summer campaign onsite, and in partnership with Fort Worth ISD, at Kirkpatrick Middle School, Wednesday, June 7^th  at 3p, just minutes before the campus opens their doors to the surrounding community for the weekly summer feeding program.  This is just one of many schools in Fort Worth ISD that will offer summer feeding programs.

“Fort Worth ISD is proud to partner with Tarrant Area Food Bank to support the food needs of our families during the year, as well as the summer.  Said From Dr. Angelica Ramsey, FWISD Superintendent.  “The pantries at our schools provide non-perishable and fresh food in convenient locations.”

The event will be held at Kirkpatrick Middle School’s food pantry in Fort Worth 3201 Refugio Ave. FW 76106 (NOTE:  enter in the gymnasium parking lot on Lincoln Blvd.) beginning at 2:30p.  The event will be held in the gym at 3p and the pantry will open shortly thereafter.

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The food bank is extending an invitation to Taylor to visit their facilities and see firsthand how the TAFB cares for our community, the same community where undoubtedly Swifties reside. TAFB knows from the first two of her shows that Taylor truly is a Hunger Hero, as she supported a local food bank in each city she performed with a monetary donation.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/tonyshek/, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

They want her and her fans to be their Tarrant Area Hunger Heroes throughout the 13 counties served and thus are going to celebrate the arrival of Taylor Swift via an Instagram Homepage takeover dedicated to the great entertainer that she is and celebrating her Swifties as well. Please visit their Instagram page @tarrantareafoodbank each day this week to see their tribute to Taylor Swift. Help make a connection between Taylor and the Tarrant Area Food Bank and extend their invitation to her because we all are Swifties!

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