DeSoto High School Helps Distribute Food in DeSoto During Pandemic

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DeSoto students and National Guardsmen
DeSoto students and National Guardsmen

445 Families Were Fed In Three Hours

DeSoto – For the second time this summer, the North Texas Food Bank (NTFB) Mobile Pantry partnered with DeSoto High School and the DeSoto Independent School District to serve area families during the current coronavirus global health pandemic. With the help of the U.S. Army National Guard, the NTFB Mobile Pantry staff was able to provide food to 445 families in the span of three hours.

“For those people who live in DeSoto or Glenn Heights, or who support the high school and the school district, we want to do everything we can to help them out when possible,” said Dr. David Young, a DeSoto High School athletic trainer. “This just shows the type of community support that we have here in DeSoto.”

National guardsmen carrying box of food

Throughout the event, the citizens were heard thanking the National Guard, the food bank staff, and the school district for the support during this time.

Linda Brooks, a Glenn Heights resident and DeSoto ISD grandparent now raising her two grandchildren was heard continually expressing her gratitude as she progressed through the distribution line.

“This helps a lot and is a blessing to me,” said Brooks as she explained how her family has been financially impacted by the pandemic–a situation made more difficult due to her ineligibility to receive other governmental support.

Meeting The Needs Of The Community

The North Texas Food Bank Mobile Pantry distributed milk and frozen juice, 18,000 lbs. (which equaled 900 boxes) of dry food relief kits which included shelf-stable items such as canned goods, pastas, and cereals, alongside an equal quantity of fresh produce.

Ashlyn Stevens, North Texas Food Bank site coordinator, said the mobile pantry came back to DeSoto to meet the needs of the community.

“Our mobile distributions are necessary, especially right now, because of the way this pandemic has caused an increase in unemployment rates in our service counties,” said Stevens. “We have been able to just “pop up” anywhere that we have an ample parking lot to distribute food in all of the 13 counties that the North Texas Food Bank serves.”