Local mayors Mattie Parker and Stephanie Boardingham are distributing food in southeast Fort Worth on Tuesday morning to help families during the government shutdown.
The two mayors will pass out 100 food boxes during the THRIVE Drive that begins at 10:30 a.m. at O.D. Wyatt High School, Fort Worth ISD spokesperson Jessica Becerra said.
The boxes, each containing four meals and a case of water, will be distributed at the Chaparral THRIVE Market, a grocery store on O.D. Wyatt’s campus where students buy food through points earned in school.
Boardingham, mayor of Forest Hill, said she hopes the event and the campaign inspire other local government leaders to collaborate on initiatives meant to serve their constituents.
“I’m hoping that we can lead by example and get other communities (to) join together,” Boardingham said.
The event was planned prior to the temporary defunding of the SNAP program, also known as food stamps. The program ran out of funds on Nov. 1 as a result of the government shutdown, leaving about 100,000 families and individuals in Tarrant County without vital government assistance.
On Nov. 3, the federal government announced SNAP would be partially funded after several judges ordered the refunding of the program.
Boardingham said the Tarrant County Mayors’ Council gave the THRIVE Market $2,500 to stock the store. Fort Worth Mayor Parker previously gave $15,000 to the store in May through her role as chair of the national Mayors Alliance to End Childhood Hunger.
After the alliance awarded the grant to the high school, Parker said access to nutritious food is “absolutely foundational for the success of our young people.”
Parker was not able to respond to a request for comment prior to publication.
O.D. Wyatt is one of two schools in Fort Worth ISD with THRIVE markets — which stands for Together Harnessing Resources to Give Individuals Voice and Empowerment — and one of six in North Texas.
The student-run grocery store program is supported by the Texas Health Resources Foundation and other community organizations. Southwest High School’s THRIVE Market opened in late October.
Boardingham hopes collaborations such as these can be replicated in the near future.
“To see leadership partner with one another can create greater opportunity for the people that we serve, especially the students that we serve,” Boardingham said.
In a brief submitted Monday to a United States district court, officials from the U.S. Department of Agriculture noted that the federal government will fund “50% of eligible households’ current allotments.” The brief states the money may take weeks or even months to be sent out.
The brief also notes that, for now, no new applicants will be considered for SNAP enrollment and that potential disaster assistance will not be available.
Although local schools have no power over SNAP, Fort Worth ISD continues to implement new resources to better support families, Becerra said in a statement.
“The district remains committed to connecting families with available community and campus-based support to help meet their basic needs during this time,” she said.
Ismael M. Belkoura is the health reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at ismael.belkoura@fortworthreport.org.
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