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Woodforest Charitable Foundation Donates $5,000 to the Tarrant Area Food Bank

Tarrant Area Food Bank Receives $5,000 Donation

Photo Caption:Jason Stockton, Ft. Worth Regional Manager; Bill Smith of Woodforest Bank; Torin Wallace of Woodforest Bank; Chance Cypert of Woodforest Bank; Brian Builta, Grant Specialist for Tarrant Area Food Bank; Dillon Marsh of Woodforest Bank; James Larabee, Dallas Regional Manager; Frank Pearce of Woodforest Bank; Jessica Garcia of Woodforest Bank; and Tiffany Truttmann of Woodforest Bank..

Fort Worth , Texas –Tarrant Area Food Bank welcomes a $5,000 donation from the Woodforest Charitable Foundation.

According to Feeding America, 22.1% of Texas children live in households facing hunger, the highest rate in the nation.  Woodforest Charitable Foundation’s grant will help support Tarrant Area Food Bank in their efforts to alleviate childhood hunger through its Kids Café and BackPacks for Kids programs.

The mission of Tarrant Area Food Bank is to eliminate hunger in Fort Worth, Texas and 13 surrounding counties by providing food, education, and other resources to a network of 300 hunger-relief charities and their communities.  Each month, on average, the network distributes food to 35,000 households and serves more than 500,000 meals and snacks.  In 2009 the Food Bank distributed over 19 million pounds of food.

Tarrant Area Food Bank works with elementary and middle schools to provide food for children over the weekend by offering its Backpack for Kids program.  This program is placed at schools where 80% or more of the students are eligible for free and reduced-cost meals.  The schools identify the disadvantaged students, and the Food Bank provides the backpacks and the food that children can easily access without the help of adults.  At the end of the school week, children take home food for themselves and their school-aged siblings.  The Food Bank currently sponsors 16 schools in three counties.

The Food Bank also fights against childhood hunger by supporting 17 Kids Café program sites.  Kids Café programs provide free meals and snacks to low-income children through a variety of existing community locations such as after school programs and churches.  In addition to providing meals to hungry kids, Kids Café programs offer a safe place, where under the supervision of trustworthy staff, a child can get involved in educational, recreational and social activities. “The need is great, which makes us appreciate our partnership with Woodforest National Bank even more,” said Bo Soderbergh, Executive Director of Tarrant Area Food Bank.  “Thank you for making a difference in the lives of our neighbors.”

For more information about the Tarrant Area Food Bank, please call (817) 332-9177 or visit the Food Bank’s website at www.tafb.org.

The Woodforest Charitable Foundation was created by Woodforest National Bank in 2005 as a direct result of its desire to support and invest in the communities in which it serves.  The Foundation is creating a legacy of commitment to those in need, enriching lives and communities through dedicated leadership and faithful administration by providing funding to qualifying 501(c)(3) charities. For additional information regarding The Woodforest Charitable Foundation, call (832) 375-CARE (2273) or visit the foundation’s website at www.woodforestcharitablefoundation.org.
Celebrating 30 years of service and ranked among the top earning banks in the United States, the Woodforest family of banks currently has assets of approximately $3.2 billion and services more than 770,000 customers with branches in excess of 700 throughout seventeen states:  Texas, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia.  For information about Woodforest National Bank, please call 832-375-2000 or visit the bank’s website at www.woodforest.com.