Rotary Club of Park Cities Provides Mobile Food Pantry

To purchase the first Mobile Food Pantry in the DFW Metroplex, the Rotary Club of Park Cities (RCPC), partnering with Texas Capital Bank (TCB) will present a check to the North Texas Food Bank (NTFB) at noon, Friday, December 11. RCPC members will meet with leaders of TCB at the NTFB’s new headquarters,at the south end of the Dallas Farmers Market.
 
This partnership, targeting our community’s underserved residents, became especially urgent when the Texas state legislature’s House Bill 1485, which had passed three readings, failed in the last minute. Too many legislators were physically absent, so the bill was thrown out.  
 
The specially designed mobile food pantry is expected to be operational by January, will enable the NTFB to provide services to clients that its usual big trucks can’t reach. Residents in high-need areas, such as apartment complexes, housing units and senior citizens facilities will receive the equivalent of more than 830,000 meals delivered annually. 
 
“Our plans for helping reduce the huge issue of hunger in North Texas will provide an estimated 1 million pounds of nutritious food and fresh produce each year,” says RCPC President Karen Farris. One in six residents of NTFB’s Dallas County service area are food deprived, affecting one in four children, according to Feeding America estimates.
 
Farris announced that Park Cities Rotary Clubs’ plans for this mobile food pantry are finally a reality. This mobile food pantry will be co-branded with NTFB, RCPC and TCB Bank logos. Company or individual donors who provide $1,000 or more will receive miniature model food trucks imprinted with their names on top.
 
The Rotary Club of Park Cities has just been named Rotary’s District 5810 Club of the Year for 2014-15, having also earned it in three earlier years. Comprised of 65 Rotary Clubs, District 5810 represents the nine county area around Dallas. Founded in 1948, RCPC meets from noon until 1 p.m. every Friday at NorthPark’s  Maggiano’s restaurant.  RCPC’s 165 membership make it one of the largest clubs in District 5810.  Members are encouraged to bring guests to these meetings, and visitors are welcome to attend. Weekly programs, featuring area leaders such as the commander and several crew members of the USS nuclear submarine, WFAA Sports Anchor Dale Hansen and award-winning Rena Pederson, author of four books, and former editor of the Dallas Morning News editorial page. 
 
The world’s first service organization, Rotary International’s 2015-16 theme, “Be a Gift to the World,” combines with its continuing theme of “Service Above Self.” Providing services to more than 200 countries, Rotary International’s primary focus and challenge since 1985 is ending polio worldwide.  Its END POLIO NOW campaign goal has almost been reached, with only13 cases reported in Afghanistan, and only 38 cases in Pakistan during 2015. Nigeria, Somalia and Cameroon are the most  recent countries to be declared Polio Free in 2015.
 
For more information, contact: Co-chairs:
Linda Tunnell -214-926-3974  or
Ley Waggoner 214-912-0090
 
News Release as of Nov. 14, 2015