Fort Worth volunteer helps keep tables full, as SNAP benefits paused and food insecurity rises

“We are expected to serve upwards of 1,500 families. We were expecting 500, and the need has tripled since the SNAP benefits pause,” Dr. Jared Williams said.

TARRANT COUNTY, Texas — For seven years, Cindy Pruett has been one of the first faces people see when they walk into Taste Project Restaurant in Fort Worth.

Her name is posted near the front door, in honor of her commitment to serving others. Every week, Pruett volunteers her time at Taste Project Restaurant, a nonprofit restaurant that serves nutritious meals to anyone who walks in—no matter what they can afford to pay.

“A lot of the time I’m at the host stand, that’s my favorite place to be,” Cindy Pruett said. “Or also on the line, helping the servers get the food out. I’ve also served wait tables.”

Cindy retired several years ago. When she is not at the restaurant, she is thinking about her next time she volunteers and even some of the people they’ve served over the years.

Pruett doesn’t get paid. But her time here is more valuable now than ever. 

With federal SNAP benefits paused for about 11,000 Tarrant County residents, more people are struggling to afford food. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program helps families buy groceries, and the pause has created a growing need at places like Taste Project.

“I know we have clientele that this may be the only healthy meal they get all day long,” Cindy Pruett said.

That same need is being seen at the Tarrant Area Food Bank in Denton County.

“Folks started arriving at the distribution line about 6 this morning,” Dr. Jared Williams, Tarrant Area Food Bank’s vice president of external affairs, said.

Lines stretched long as the food bank gave out turkeys, fresh vegetables, and boxes of non-perishables. The distribution start time was set for 10 am, and by 9:30 am, the parking lot was packed with people waiting, and the line of vehicles even stretched into the street. It was not what organizers expected, but they came prepared.

“We are expected to serve upwards of 1,500 families,” Dr. Jared Williams said. “We were expecting 500, and the need has tripled since the SNAP benefits pause.”

“This food will definitely help us out,” said another recipient in line for help. “I wasn’t on SNAP, but the job thing, you know, in between jobs, and right now it can be hard.”

For volunteers like Pruett, helping others is about more than food. It’s about hope.

“It fills my heart to be able to give back to my community,” Cindy Pruett said.

At Taste Project and food banks across North Texas, the volunteers keep showing up, so families won’t have to face hunger alone.