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Jun 30, 2023

Community Food Bank volunteers need tents to provide cover for those in line

The desperate need for food amid relentless heat led to a scary scene outside Community Food Bank in Fort Worth Tuesday. The nonprofit serves hundreds of families per week, including many seniors.

The desperate need for food amid relentless heat led to a scary scene outside Community Food Bank in Fort Worth Tuesday.

The nonprofit serves hundreds of families per week, including many seniors. With lines outside extending the length of the building, some bring umbrellas, hats, or anything to shield them from the sun.

On Tuesday afternoon, MedStar and firefighters with the Fort Worth Fire Department rushed in when a woman standing in line and waiting on her box of food started feeling sick.

"She was in her late 60s … she started leaning up against the wall and started slumping down on our building. So, our volunteers out there got her and they set her down and they called for the paramedics to come," said Regina Taylor, executive director of the Community Food Bank.

The woman ended up briefly passing out from dehydration but was OK when paramedics arrived.

Volunteers with the food bank are tasked with ensuring those waiting in lines outside are OK and have water. The charity doesn't have many pop-up tents and volunteers are asked to urge older customers to wait in their cars for service.

Taylor said canopy or tent donations would go a long way to providing some relief for customers and the helpers providing help.

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"We need people to help us get a canopy. We don't have it in our budget," Taylor said.

As the temperatures remain high, so does the demand for food.

"People come to us when it's raining, when it's sleeting, they're coming. I always say we post on Facebook, 'How do you know that people are hungry?' With this storm out there today people are standing in line. And people come because they're hungry."

To make a donation to Community Food Bank in Fort Worth, click here.