North Texas Food Bank and Tarrant Area Food Bank to receive benefits for winter storm recovery
Thousands of North Texans went without power or water, many people lost food and were left with expensive home repairs because of the record-breaking deep freeze, contributing to increased demand at food banks. Medical City Healthcare’s donation will provide about 200,000 meals. The week after the storm, the North Texas Food Bank distributed 2.3 million nutritious meals, an increase of 94% from the same week the prior year because of the combined impact of the storm and financial stressors related to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
“I’m incredibly proud of how our Medical City Healthcare and HCA Healthcare family have responded to care for our community and each other,” says Erol Akdamar, FACHE, president of Medical City Healthcare. “Supporting the North Texas Food Bank and the Tarrant Area Food Bank to meet this essential need is one of the many ways we fulfill our mission to the care and improvement of human life.”
The food bank support is part of $250,000 in contributions from HCA Healthcare to support relief efforts by charitable organizations in Texas communities affected by February’s winter storms. Texas is home to approximately 50,000 HCA Healthcare colleagues, including 17,000 Medical City Healthcare colleagues.
“We are so grateful for the support of companies like Medical City Healthcare and HCA Healthcare that recognize the growing issue of hunger and look for ways to contribute to organizations addressing this complex problem,” says Trisha Cunningham, President and CEO of the North Texas Food Bank. “Their generosity helps advance our mission of bridging the hunger gap in North Texas, especially after the extreme weather events in February that left so many in our community needing food assistance.”
“Medical City Healthcare and HCA Healthcare have been so supportive of the Tarrant Area Food Bank’s efforts to address food insecurity,” says Julie Butner, president and CEO of the Tarrant Area Food Bank. “This generous donation will ensure that we can continue to feed those in need in our 13 counties who were recently affected by the unexpected Texas winter storm power outages and water shortages in their communities.”
Medical City Healthcare has long advocated the health benefits of nutritious meals. The Medical City Children’s Hospital’s award-winning kids teaching kids® and kids fit menu® programs encourage healthy eating habits from a young age and partner with the Texas Restaurant Association Education Foundation and local restaurants to provide educational opportunities and pathways to careers in food and nutrition. Over the past year, Medical City Healthcare has donated more than $150,000 to North Texas area food banks.
To join Medical City Healthcare in the fight against hunger, go to North Texas Food Bank or Tarrant Area Food Bank to make an online donation.