From Special Reports
ARLINGTON– The Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic and Tarrant Area Food Bank collaborated with several community partners for the fifth year in a row to host its 2024 Thanksgiving Mega Mobile Market on Thursday at AT&T Stadium.
It was a sunny, autumn day perfect to champion the North Texas community as Thanksgiving-related meals were provided to 5,417 families. In total, 380,000 pounds of food and 316,000 meals were distributed in Tarrant Area Food Bank’s largest mass food distribution event of the year. Each bag of nutritious food per family included a turkey or chicken, pantry items such as green beans and stuffing, fresh produce and other non-perishable items needed to complete a holiday meal.
“This Thanksgiving Mega Mobile Market is huge for the community we serve,” said Julie Butner, President & Chief Executive Officer, Tarrant Area Food Bank. “This is a community event. The donors and volunteers look forward to this. My staff looks forward to having this direct contact and support to give back and give thanks to what they have by giving to someone else.”
For the second straight year, Cotton Bowl Foundation and longtime Classic partner American Airlines each presented $10,000 to Tarrant Area Food Bank. The $20,000 donation, which equals 100,000 meals, is earmarked to support TAFB’s mission to alleviate hunger and improve health across its 13-county service area.
“This event is a labor of love for our staff and all of the community partners we are able to bring together to make a major impact on our community,” said Rick Baker, President/Chief Executive Officer, Cotton Bowl Athletic Association. “We have a great team and we’re proud to support Tarrant Area Food Bank. This event kicks off the season of giving for them and it’s really important for us to help our friends and neighbors who need our support, especially this time of year.”
The Cotton Bowl Classic and Tarrant Area Food Bank once again captained a team of community partners that included support from AT&T Stadium and the Dallas Cowboys. Stadium and Cowboys employees along with 300 American Airlines staff members and 12 CBAA Council members worked the distribution lines with the Arlington Police and Fire departments managing and aiding with the event logistics for the four-hour event. The protein and portions of the food distributed were secured by the collective efforts of the MW Cares Foundation, MW Logistics and Albertsons/Tom Thumb.
The more than 500 volunteers on hand were provided lunch from Chick-fil-A courtesy of the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic and Classic partner TicketEStore provided snacks throughout the morning and assisted in one of the distribution lines.
This Mega Mobile Market marked the fifth straight year that Tarrant Area Food Bank and the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic teamed up to host a holiday distribution event and the sixth time the two organizations have collaborated to lead mass distribution events at AT&T Stadium. The six Mega Mobile Markets at AT&T Stadium (November 2020, May 2021, November 2021, November 2022, November 2023 and November 2024) have combined to provide food to 29,046 families.
Tarrant Area Food Bank (TAFB) was founded in 1982 by a group of Fort Worth residents concerned about hunger in their community. Now the primary source of donated food for hunger-relief charities and feeding programs in Tarrant and 12 surrounding counties, TAFB is committed to making sure communities in North Texas have the nutritious food they need.
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