Leaders from Grace Bridge Food Bank and The Servolution Network talked about the trends they're seeing, how they're working to fill in the gaps and how the organizations are planning for the future.
"Year one, we were really focused on just those basic necessities. So, food that can be taken home by a family and prepared meals, said Carter Morris, President of Grace Bridge Food Bank., they've continued growing, just like the population of the city of Celina. Celina's population nearly doubled in the past three years.
"It grew into a community garden, we started an eye care clinic that's right here behind me," Morris said.Sign up for NBC DFW newslettersThe nonprofit also coordinates disaster relief, provides holiday gifts for kids and uses profits from their resale stores to meet the growing need in the community "In 2020, we saw a 20% increase almost immediately during the pandemic. And then we saw an additional 25% over that. And now we're running at about 11% over that this year," Morris said.
Like other nonprofits in rural areas, Morris says they are hearing from more families that could use a helping hand, thanks to a combination of factors including inflation, lasting effects from the pandemic and more people moving to the area.