{"id":35475,"date":"2025-11-04T23:39:06","date_gmt":"2025-11-04T23:39:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/35475\/"},"modified":"2025-11-04T23:39:06","modified_gmt":"2025-11-04T23:39:06","slug":"fort-worth-volunteer-helps-keep-tables-full-as-snap-benefits-paused-and-food-insecurity-rises","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/35475\/","title":{"rendered":"Fort Worth volunteer helps keep tables full, as SNAP benefits paused and food insecurity rises"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cWe are expected to serve upwards of 1,500 families. We were expecting 500, and the need has tripled since the SNAP benefits pause,&#8221; Dr. Jared Williams said.<\/p>\n<p>TARRANT COUNTY, Texas \u2014 For seven years, Cindy Pruett has been one of the first faces people see when they walk into Taste Project Restaurant in Fort Worth.<\/p>\n<p>Her name is posted near the front door, in honor of her <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wfaa.com\/article\/money\/snap-cuts-local-restaurants-free-food-kids\/287-a025d999-e805-43b8-b960-15f44451bfd5\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">commitment to serving others<\/a>. Every week, Pruett volunteers her time at Taste Project Restaurant, a nonprofit restaurant that serves nutritious meals to anyone who walks in\u2014no matter what they can afford to pay.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA lot of the time I\u2019m at the host stand, that\u2019s my favorite place to be,\u201d Cindy Pruett said. \u201cOr also on the line, helping the servers get the food out. I\u2019ve also served wait tables.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>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&#8217;ve served over the years.<\/p>\n<p>Pruett doesn\u2019t get paid. But her time here is more valuable now than ever.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>With<a href=\"https:\/\/www.wfaa.com\/article\/news\/local\/dallas-county\/richardson-womans-front-yard-pantry-grows-amid-government-shutdown\/287-c62b2b8d-4d02-44bd-b4da-7485bf42b51e\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">\u00a0federal SNAP benefits paused for about 11,000 Tarrant County residents<\/a>, 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.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know we have clientele that this may be the only healthy meal they get all day long,\u201d Cindy Pruett said.<\/p>\n<p>That same need is being seen at the Tarrant Area Food Bank in Denton County.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFolks started arriving at the distribution line about 6 this morning,\u201d Dr. Jared Williams, Tarrant Area Food Bank\u2019s vice president of external affairs, said.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are expected to serve upwards of 1,500 families,\u201d Dr. Jared Williams said. \u201cWe were expecting 500, and the need has tripled since the SNAP benefits pause.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis food will definitely help us out,\u201d said another recipient in line for help. &#8220;I wasn\u2019t on SNAP, but the job thing, you know, in between jobs, and right now it can be hard.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For volunteers like Pruett, helping others is about more than food. It\u2019s about hope.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt fills my heart to be able to give back to my community,\u201d Cindy Pruett said.<\/p>\n<p>At Taste Project and food banks across North Texas, the volunteers keep showing up, so families won\u2019t have to face hunger alone.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cWe are expected to serve upwards of 1,500 families. We were expecting 500, and the need has tripled&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":35476,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[150,152,151],"class_list":{"0":"post-35475","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arlington","8":"tag-arlington","9":"tag-arlington-headlines","10":"tag-arlington-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35475","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35475"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35475\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35476"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35475"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35475"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35475"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}