7 Unique Ways To Help Denton Community Food Center
On the ladder of self-sufficiency, food is the first rung – the most basic human need.
If you don’t have food, you don’t have survival.
Imagine you wake up tomorrow and find your kitchen cabinets and refrigerator emptied of food. You go out to the car, which coughs to a start, and the gas needle promises to trigger the empty light at any moment. Knowing your kids don’t have access to school lunch — again — and worrying about how to replace that sandwich when you hear their stomachs growl, you catch the bus and head to Kroger.
Only this time, it's completely gone. All that’s left is a Dollar General, which turns out to be somewhat good news as you look in your wallet to find your cash is limited, and your bank account even more so. You cobble together the closest thing possible to a “healthy” meal from the fluorescent freezer cases, then catch the bus to work.
After working all day, you lay your head down exhausted, grateful to have managed to feed your family but already filled with anxiety about what awaits you tomorrow.
This is a day in the life of far too many of our neighbors… 1 out of 5 to be exact.
21% of Denton County experiences this exact food insecurity on a daily basis.
But it goes even deeper than that…
The effects of your neighbor’s malnutrition and limited access to food directly impact the vitality of the community in which you live.
That’s a lot of mouths to feed.
“Adults don’t function well in our workforce if they are distracted by hunger, or stressed by the unknown of how to feed their family,” Tom Newell with DCFC explains.
When families live in food deserts and have limited transportation to markets that provide healthy and affordable food, their only option is fast food and low-quality food items at stores like Dollar General. But for adults to be productive contributors to our community, they need to be properly nourished. And for many, this has to be taught.
Because at the end of the day…
Fully functioning people create a fully functioning community.
But here’s the good news–you can make a significant impact on the lives of hungry people by partnering with Denton Community Food Center.
Denton Community Food Center (DCFC) is the largest food pantry in the northern Denton County area providing food assistance to families in 21 cities, 31 different zip codes, and stretching from Decatur to the Collin County line.
Want to help, but don’t know how? We’ve got you covered.
Here are 7 unique ways you can help DCFC this month:
Give the right food
Believe it or not, there are certain products that are hot commodities at food centers, and it’s important to know what specific needs you can help fill.
Although all items are appreciated, currently DCFC’s most needed items are:
Canned Fruit
Canned Meals like SpaghettiO’s
Chili or Stew
Boxed goods like Hamburger Helper/Skillet Meals or Instant Potatoes, etc.
Additional suggested items include:
Mixed Vegetables or Corn & Green Beans
Beans (all varieties, Baked, Brown, Pinto, etc)
Tomato & Spaghetti sauces or whole Tomatoes
Soup (all varieties to eat or cook with)
Pasta like Spaghetti, Fettuccine, etc
Dried Beans or Rice (brown or white)
Powdered Milk
But if none of those are on your list to give, you can always opt for the classics:
Breakfast Cereal or Oatmeal
Bottled Fruit Juices (Apple, Orange, Mixed)
Peanut Butter, Boxed Crackers
Make giving a family affair
Cultivating a spirit of giving is something that is taught. Teach your kids healthy eating habits by teaching them how to compile healthy elements for an entire meal. By creating “meal” donations that include the 5 major food groups (grains, protein, vegetables, fruit, and dairy) you can influence your children while helping people in need. It’s a win-win!
Volunteer your time
The Denton Community Food Center is 100% volunteer staffed and run, donor funded and supported, and a community-based charity. Which means, it’s all hands on deck.
Volunteers can volunteer any day and in a myriad of ways:
Light duties include interviewing clients, this is outside and involves walking to cars, pushing shopping carts, and assembling bags of fresh groceries.
Medium duties include loading shopping carts with pre-assembled bags (10-20 pounds)
Heavy duties include lifting boxes of frozen foods or produce into carts (10 to 25 lbs.).
Email Dallas Newell at dallas.newell@unt.edu listing the days and hours you can volunteer. All volunteers must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
Host a pantry donation party
Fall is a time for family parties and get-togethers with friends, so why not host a party with a theme that focuses on donating to the hungry? When you invite loved ones over to your house, tell them to bring a few nonperishable food items. Besides chatting and eating, your friends and family will be doing good for people experiencing food insecurity. Once the party is over, load up all the goodies and drop them off at DCFC.
Host a virtual food drive
When you hear “food drive,” you probably think of the traditional cardboard collection boxes. But why not spice things up with a “virtual” food drive, where you collect monetary donations online?
You can raise money from your own family, friends, and social media connections, or organize a drive on behalf of your workplace, school, or community organization.
Not only do monetary donations provide the most efficient form of support, but online fundraisers are also quicker and easier during the hustle and bustle of fall festivities.
Get your company involved
Think bigger than just what you can bring to the table (pun intended). Many businesses offer matching gift programs where they’ll match certain donations you make to nonprofits or charities. Chat with your employer to see if they offer such a program, offer to fill out the required paperwork, and leverage your company’s generosity to double your impact!
Spice up your donations
Most food banks get a ton of staple foods, but they’re often lacking in spices and condiments. Give the gift of flavor by donating items like salt, pepper, mayonnaise, mustard, ketchup, and Sriracha. But don’t let these examples limit you…the fridge is the limit! These are versatile items that can be used over and over to spice up mediocre meals. Talk about the gift that keeps on giving!
But as you’re gathering up friends and goodies to donate, remember that people are in need year-round.
It’s easy to think about giving to food centers during the holidays when so many of our festivities are centered around celebratory meals. But remember that people experiencing food insecurity now will most likely be experiencing it after the holidays as well.
Consider donating food year-round. Carve out the first of every month to gather items to drop off at Denton Community Food Center, or plan to evenly space out your donations throughout the calendar year to ensure our neighbors in need are cared for.
It’s easy to turn a blind eye to the family struggling to keep their pantry filled and stomachs satiated.
...until you’re the one who needs it.
Will you help fill in the gap and make Denton a stronger community?
For more information, visit DCFC’s website.