Medical City Healthcare to donate $100,000 to local food banks to buy meals, create jobs

Medical City Healthcare announced April 14 that it will donate $100,000 to the North Texas Food Bank and the Tarrant Area Food Bank to help those in need and to create jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Part of the donations will be used for nutritious meals, while the other portion will be used to help hire displaced hospitality employees to do the work formerly done by volunteers, according to the announcement. Each food bank will get $50,000.

“Good nutrition is fundamental to good health,” Medical City Healthcare President Erol Akdamar said in a statement. “Our community is counting on us now more than ever and these grants to the North Texas Food Bank and the Tarrant Area Food Bank allow us to help two outstanding organizations as they offer jobs to those in need and address our region’s escalating hunger problem as a result of this pandemic.”

The donation will come from the HCA Healthcare Foundation and a tax-exempt trust affiliated with HCA Healthcare and Medical City Healthcare, according to the announcement.

Trisha Cunningham, president and CEO of the North Texas Food Bank, said in a statement that since the COVID-19 outbreak started, the food bank has seen a 30% increase in need for services. She added that the outbreak has led to a significant reduction in volunteers.

“We’re so pleased that Medical City is supporting our efforts to feed more people during this critical time,” Cunningham said. “We know the need will only grow in the coming weeks and months, and this support will go a long way towards ensuring our neighbors have the nutrition that they need.”