The daylong event featured awards, learning sessions and the chance to hear about the impact made in FY24.

The North Texas Food Bank recognized partner agencies of the year as well as impact and emerging partners in each of the 13 counties it serves during its Agency Partner Summit last week.

Good Samaritans of Garland was honored as the Retail Partner of the Year, the Homeless Coalition of Dallas as the Emerging Partner of the Year and The Globe Life Garden at the Community Garden Kitchen of Collin County as the first-ever Garden Partner of the Year.

The organizations honored during the day were recognized for their exceptional efforts over the past year to meet the growing demand for food assistance, their ability to partner with retailers to distribute food to neighbors, their commitment to growth and their holistic approach to supporting neighbors in need. Emergent partners are those whose partnership is new to NTFB’s Feeding Network.

Impact partners of the year in each county included: Irving Cares (Dallas County), Our Daily Bread Royce City (Rockwall County), Local Good Center (Collin County), Heart of the City (Denton County), Compassion Corsicana (Navarro County), Manna House Midlothian (Ellis County), Kaufman Christian Help Center (Kaufman County), Hopkins County Community Chest (Hopkins County), Masterkey Ministries (Grayson County), McKenzie UMC Food Pantry (Fannin County), Downtown Food Pantry (Lamar County) and Hunt County Shared Ministries (Hunt County).

Emerging partners of the year in each county included: Vickery Meadows (Dallas County), The Resource Center (Dallas County), Rockwall Helping Hands (Rockwall County), Hope for the Cities (Collin County), Redeemer Church of Denton (Denton County), Hope to Go (Navarro County), Helping Hands of Ennis (Ellis County), First Baptist Church Crandall (Kaufman County), Pine Forest Pantry (Hopkins County), Harmony Missionary Baptist (Grayson County), Feeding Fannin—Ladonia and Bonham (Fannin County), CitySquare Paris (Lamar County) and Delta Hope House (Delta County). To read about each honoree, click here.

The awards were part of a daylong summit held August 23 at the Renaissance Richardson Hotel Conference Center. Sponsored by UnitedHealthcare, the event included learning sessions for NTFB partner pantries and community organizations plus updates on NTFB’s food distribution and strategy as well as spotlights on the work of a few partner agencies.

“Our ability to provide over 106 million physical meals last year is a testament to the vital partnerships with our network of 500 food pantries and organizations,” said Anne Readhimer, Chief Impact Officer. “Over 90 percent of the food we distribute in our 13-county region reaches those in need through these dedicated partners. It’s a privilege to work alongside such impactful agencies and recognize the significant difference they make in our communities.”

In the morning, NTFB President and CEO Trisha Cunningham shared an update on the state of hunger in North Texas, asking partners to join with the food bank in a rallying cry inspired by the 1980s anti-litter “Don’t Mess With Texas” campaign. “These are our neighbors we’re serving,” said Trisha, reminding those in attendance that our neighbors facing hunger include the people who shop with us and send their kids to school alongside ours. “As we serve this year, let’s remember that and say to ourselves, ‘Don’t mess with Texans!’”

Attendees also heard from Anne as well as NTFB’s data team about the state of the food bank and its initiatives moving forward, including continuing to support partners as they grow to meet the needs of our community and as they work to add wraparound services that target the underlying barriers to food security. Data showing where our neighbors facing hunger live also will continue to guide NTFB as it works to equitably distribute food.

During a panel discussion, leaders from NTFB’s distribution hubs, Sharing Life and Crossroads Community Services, gave their perspective on hunger and talked about some of the innovative ways they are serving neighbors. Those in attendance also had the chance to attend two breakout sessions that focused on various topics, including succession planning, mental health first aid and building donor-centric development plans.

To close the day, guests heard inspiring stories from leaders at the Resource Center in Dallas, Sir Kendrick’s Smile for Autism in Rice and Empowering the Masses in South Dallas. Founder and Executive Director for Feeding the Masses Tammy Johnson spoke about how they provide neighbors with access to food first and then offer so that they can partner with them to work toward self-sufficiency through things like the medical training certifications offered on-site. “We do that to provide them with a seed of hope for self-sustainability,” she said.