From the cover
Tarrant Area Food Bank’s new Ag Hub to boost produce access
Zooming in
The overview
The new Ag Hub will have direct benefits for local food pantries, such as nonprofit relief agency Grapevine Relief and Community Exchange, said Tarrant County Commissioner Gary Fickes, whose precinct includes Grapevine, Colleyville and South- lake. TAFB also partners with pantries, including GRACE’s, to offer classes on how to prepare certain ingredients. Some families are making hard decisions about what they put money toward, and sometimes fruits and vegetables end up pushed aside in favor of more shelf-stable and less expensive groceries, GRACE’s Chief Program Officer Stacy Pacholick said. “We’re so excited [for the Ag Hub],” she said. “Fresh produce is something that’s very hard to come by, and it’s expensive.” Late November data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index shows the Dal- las-Fort Worth-Arlington area has a higher inflation rate for food and shelter compared to other parts of the U.S. With that in mind, some people are making the choice to go hungry rather than go homeless, Pacholick said. As a result, more people have been using the GRACE food pantry. GRACE pantry visits are on the rise, with visits increasing by about 60% from fiscal year 21-22 to FY 22-23. Number of food pantry visits Visits in October 2021 457
The Ag Hub is an 8,000-square-foot refrigerated storage facility that allows food bank staff and volunteers to do three main things: • Process produce locally: Much of the produce in Texas is typically grown and processed in the Rio Grande Valley, Rane said. The hub will allow fruits and vegetables to be processed in the heart of Fort Worth— thus increasing its freshness period —before being distributed to the more than 450 area food pantries. • Provide trading opportunities: Rane said, being located in North Texas, the Ag Hub’s proximity to Arkansas and Oklahoma could also prove useful with food trades. Arkansas has a chicken hub and Oklahoma has a beef hub, so if there is a surplus of produce at the Ag Hub, staff could trade it for much-needed protein. • Support local farmers: By having a large, dedicated space for produce distribution, food bank officials can expand partnerships with local and regional produce growers. One such partnership with a local farmer is with Cowtown Farmers Market in Fort Worth. Its Manager Becca Knutson said Tarrant Area Food Bank purchases unsold produce at the end of each Saturday market from the farmers at market cost. This program ensures farmers are able to sell their harvests even if customer traffic is low at the market. By opening the Ag Hub, the food bank will be able to bring more produce grown locally into the region for partner agencies to distribute to their clients. Many other food banks can’t handle full truckloads of produce, but now with the Ag
Hub, TAFB can take it off their hands and distribute it, Rane said. “We want to be a point of contact for [groups] to bring in the produce, mix the truckloads and distribute it,” he said. Ag Hub layout The agriculture hub is part of an 34,000 square-foot indoor facility that includes a warehouse and a ready-to-learn area, which shows people how to cook and consume food.
Key: 1 Outdoor garden 2 Ag Hub 3 Warehouse space
4 Ready-to-learn space 5 Flexible space for future services
40,000 Total square feet
1
5
4
6,000 square feet
12,000 square feet
5,000 square feet
2
3
Visits in October 2022
8,000 square feet
9,000 square feet
+101.97%
835
Visits in October 2023
923
SOURCE: TARRANT AREA FOOD BANK/COMMUNITY IMPACT
SOURCE: GRACE GRAPEVINE/COMMUNITY IMPACT
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