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The Tarrant Area Food Bank CEO Julie Butner presents the results from the Feeding America Map Meal Gap Study at the food banks distribution center.<\/p>\n
Mary Ella Hastings<\/p>\n
With the cost of living steadily increasing, more than a million people in the Dallas-Fort Worth do not know where their next meal is coming from, and the Tarrant Area Food Bank is calling for donations and volunteers<\/a> to help fill in the gap between supply and demand.<\/p>\n The Food Bank announced Tuesday that it is adding $1 million dollars to its 2027 budget to account for a possible loss of federal funding, according to President and CEO Julie Butner.<\/p>\n Butner said the population in the Dallas Fort Worth Area has grown by 8% since 2020 but the number of people experiencing food insecurity has risen by 32%.<\/p>\n Butner presented the result of the latest findings from the Feeding America Map Meal Gap Study<\/a> during a press conference at the Tarrant Area Food Bank distribution center.<\/p>\n The study shows that Texas has the highest level of food insecurity in the nation, with 1.4 million people in Dallas-Fort Worth experiencing hunger.<\/p>\n \u201cHunger remains unacceptably high across North Texas, and the growing number of children facing food insecurity is simply alarming,\u201d Butner said.<\/p>\n The Tarrant Area Food Bank serves 13 counties from Cooke County to Hill County. Its receives and distributes food through a network of partner agencies that help serve rural and suburban communities.<\/p>\n Butner said it\u2019s not just the population growth that is causing this increase in hunger, it\u2019s the economic pressures occurring because of high food and gas prices.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve never seen food costs rise the way it\u2019s rising right now. We haven\u2019t seen gasoline prices this high ever in our history, and those things come together and create a very difficult hardship for those families who are low income,\u201d Butner said.<\/p>\n Butner said Tarrant Area Food Bank is addressing these issues with \u201cinnovative community-based solutions,\u201d such as the Ready To Learn Program<\/a> that brings food markets into schools for families and students in need.<\/p>\n It also offers SNAP enrollment assistance<\/a> and direct services to those in need. SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program<\/a>, helps low income families purchase food.<\/p>\n Butner emphasized that food banks cannot solve hunger on their own. They need strong federal policies and funding to support them. S<\/p>\n \u201cWe need strong federal policies that support both the American agricultural system and families who experience hardship. Programs like the Emergency Food Assistance Program strengthen markets for farmers, reduce food waste, and provide nutritious food to our communities.\u201d<\/p>\n In the 60 years that SNAP has been around it has always been a 50\/50 cost share between the federal government and the state, according to Butner.<\/p>\n Under President Donald Trump\u2019s Big Beautiful Bill<\/a> federal funding for SNAP would fall to 25%. Butner said the state is simply not ready to cover the shortfall. That is why the Food Bank is asking for a two-year delay to prepare.<\/p>\n She said about 30% of the food bank\u2019s funding comes from the federal government through the Farm Bill, which covers 16 federal nutrition programs including SNAP, and provides relief for farmers and ranchers.<\/p>\n She said relief for farmers is important for the hunger crisis because the food bank relies on them.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is an interconnection between local farmers and growers, and food banks. We\u2019ve been working with them since our inception,\u201d Butner said.<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/IMG_3178.jpeg\" "\\"IMG_3178.jpeg\\"")
A model market in the Tarrant Area Food Bank distribution Center that models the markets implemented in Schools through the Ready To Learn Program. Mary Ella Hastings <\/p>\n