DE SOTO (1080 KRLD)- The North Texas Food Bank held a "mobile pantry" Thursday outside DeSoto High School. This was the food bank's third mobile pantry held in partnership with DeSoto ISD.
"With our family, the pandemic has affected our jobs," one woman in line said, adding she had never needed help from a food bank before. "When you have a large family, to have a community come together like this & provide for families, that’s a true blessing.
The athletic trainer for DeSoto ISD says some of his students were asking for a way to help during the pandemic over the summer, and that is when he invited North Texas Food Bank to set up in the parking lot outside the district's football stadium.
"They were kind of just missing each other, so I gave the North Texas Food Bank a call, and they gave our student trainers a chance to get together but also help their community," says David Young.
Young says working at the mobile pantry helps kids gain experience working within their community while also advancing their education.
"I think it's great for the kids to volunteer and give back, but it also shows them there are a lot of people with this pandemic who are in need," he says. "We're helping out the best way we can."
"I love to give back," says Tyree Roberts, a student entering his senior year at DeSoto. "I love to help people. I want to go into the medical field, so helping is just a part of me. I love to do this."
Roberts was loading boxes of food and gallons of milk into cars Thursday. He says he also works with DeSoto's Youth Advisory Council and hopes to study medicine at Texas A&M or Stephen F. Austin.
"It gives you a good feeling, giving back to the community," he says.
Friday, North Texas Food Bank will hold a mobile pantry at UNT Dallas from 8-11 a.m.