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Food for thought: Chik-fil-A holds drive for Metro Relief's Storehouse through November
By Marthe Stinton, mstinton@starlocalnews.com
Metro Relief and its food pantry, The Storehouse, is getting ready for the holiday season with a food drive thanks to a little help from The Colony's Chik-fil-A.
Boxes have been placed at the store for those willing to donate nonperishable foods to the city's only food pantry. Rhonda Graham, marketing director for The Colony's Chik-fil-A, located at 3705 Main St., said the store is participating to help families in need within the community.
"We wanted to set it up here in the store for the entire month of November to give back to the community," she said. "We have done The Storehouse with Horizons in the past and, I know they have joined with Metro Relief and it's gotten much bigger. We just wanted to be able to help those in need obtain food when they may not have been able to do so."
The receipt donation boxes will be located in front of the registers, and larger boxes will be placed throughout the store for nonperishable food items. The drive will run through November with a big donation day wrapping up the event on Nov. 30.
On a typical day, The Colony's Chik-fil-A location sees about 1,200 customers a day.
Britt McCrary, development director for Metro Relief, said the city has gone above and beyond with food drives in the past, prompting Metro Relief to expand The Storehouse into something truly one-of-a-kind.
"Because of what this community has done over the past four years, something big had to happen," McCrary said. "We now have this new nonprofit - Metro Relief - and The Storehouse is very much thriving and surviving, it's just under a bigger umbrella. We are hoping that doing this food drive in the month of November will help people see that The Storehouse still exists - it's just bigger and better because of what the community has done."
McCrary added there was so much support from the community that the pantry has been expanded to include a walk-in freezer, making accepting things that average food pantries are unable to accept a possibility.
"All families need to have access to healthy food," she said. "We are able to give them fresh fruits and vegetables-and that's huge to be able to give fresh fruits and vegetables to people over and above nonperishable items. We can now accept meats and have plenty of space to freeze them in our freezer."
Metro Relief is also expanding its kitchen to support its goal of taking full meals to residents at Budget Suites and on trips to Dallas and Fort Worth.
"Last month, we started 'Thankful Thursdays,' where people can make a food or clothing donation every Thursday to the Metro Relief Storehouse," McCrary said. "We always have a donation bucket out front because those Thursdays have been so overwhelmingly successful. Because that has been so successful, we have decided to partner with Chik-fil-A, who has been a longtime supporter of the food pantry, and allow the entire community of The Colony to be able to make food donations day and night throughout the month of November."
Food donations will benefit at least one hundred families in The Colony as well as hundreds of people in Fort Worth and Dallas served through Metro Relief's outreach program, which McCrary said would not happen without the support from the city.
"November is known for Thanksgiving and being thankful," she said. "We serve hundreds of families in The Colony - whether it's on our Monday and Wednesday food pantry days or if it is Friday nights at Budget Suites where we take the bus and provide families with food, clothing and friendship."
Beth Doan, pantry director, said the pantry is in need of toiletries, dried beans, rice, pasta, canned meat, canned fruit and veggies, canned tomato products, soups, boxed dinners, ramen noodles, breakfast items, fresh produce, pumpkin, pie filling, stuffing, cranberry sauce, gravy and potatoes.
"We have more than just the pantry as an outreach, so sometimes money donations are the best in supporting our bus outreaches," Doan said. "Also, I can get food at a huge discount or free from the North Texas Food Bank through their shared maintenance program for non-profits. The food donated goes directly into the hands of families who need it. Last month we had over 200 families visit the pantry one time, but they are allowed to come once a week, so even if half of them do that, it adds up to a lot of food each month."
For information on where to donate, how to help and Metro Relief's role in the community, visit metrorelief.org. For information about The Colony's Chik-fil-A's participation in the food drive, call 972-370-2760.
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