With the November completion of the Tarrant Area Food Bank Agriculture Hub, another step was taken to address one of the biggest challenges for those who deal with food insecurity: access to nutritious produce.

The Ag Hub increases produce distribution from 22% to 40% of the food bank’s total food allocation​.

It also allows the food bank to expand its reach in other ways, including providing a continuous supply of more varieties of quality produce in and out of season​ as well as sharing excess produce with food banks across the region.

The Ag Hub will allow the food bank to take local produce distribution to the next level, said Tejas Rane, vice president of innovation at the Tarrant Area Food Bank.

“The goal of the agriculture hub is to be the mixing center for produce that we rescue from South Texas, across the border from Mexico, Arizona and other co-ops within the Feeding America network,” Rane said.


The overview

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.

Zooming in


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 Southlake. 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 Dallas-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.
The backstory


TAFB clients include people from all walks of life. The website stated more than one-third of those served by the food bank and its network are children.

TAFB partners with corporations to help carry out its mission, with one of those being Kroger. The grocery store chain has been a TAFB partner for more than 41 years.

“Kroger has contributed hundreds of millions of dollars to support hunger relief organizations and more than 3 billion meals,” Kroger Corporate Affairs Director John Votava said.

What they’re saying
  • “Some people in my precinct don’t have adequate access to grocery stores.”—Gary Fickes, Tarrant County Precinct 3 commissioner
  • “Next year, our goal is [to process] 7 million pounds of produce. Eventually, our goal is to hit 20 million pounds per year.”—Tejas Rane, Ag Hub manager
How to help


TAFB relies on volunteers working in its service kitchen, distribution warehouse and community gardens to help carry out its mission. GRACE also depends on donations and volunteers. It offers a list of the most-needed food items found on the GRACE website, Pacholick said.

Donations can be made online to TAFB or Grace by visiting:To learn more about how to volunteer at TAFB or GRACE, visit: