‘Splash Out Hunger’ campaign a big success

Food Drive collects more than 10,000 items for North Texas Food Bank and Tarrant Area Food Bank

fooddrive3 — Clint Hill, General Manager, Hawaiian Falls Garland; Asriel Eford, Communications Manager, North Texas Food Bank; and Jim Patterson, Sales Director, Hawaiian Falls The Colony. Photo by David Alvey.

The “Help Hawaiian Falls Splash Out Hunger” Food Drive, benefiting North Texas Food Bank and the Tarrant Area Food Bank, kicked off Aug. and ran through Labor Day. With collection points at all four North Texas waterparks, the drive collected more than 10,000 non-perishable food items.

“We were thrilled with the results of the food drive,” said David Busch, Hawaiian Falls CEO. “The community really stepped up and exceeded our expectations. We are honored to play a small part in this effort.”

Hawaiian Falls offered guests the opportunity to bring a non-perishable food item to any of its four North Texas waterparks to receive $5 off an adult admission ticket. Food items collected at the Garland and The Colony waterparks were donated to the North Texas Food Bank. Items collected at Mansfield and Roanoke went to the Tarrant Area Food Bank. Both agencies were very pleased with the results.

While food donations are needed year-round, the need is even greater in the summer when school-aged children do not have access to free and reduced-cost school lunch programs.

fooddrive2 — Randall Hudson, Sales Director, Hawaiian Falls Mansfield with Jo Ann Biggers, Volunteer Coordinator, Tarrant Area Food Bank. Photo by David Alvey.

“With the current economic crisis, we’ve seen a much greater demand on area families,” said Jo Ann Biggers, Volunteer Coordinator for the Tarrant Area Food Bank. “We get the food to agencies in the surrounding communities where they can distribute it locally. It’s especially important in rural areas where transportation is an even greater concern.”

The Tarrant Area Food Bank was chartered in 1981 and began distributing food the following year. It is a private not-for-profit organization serving Tarrant and 12 neighboring counties on the west side of the Dallas/Fort Worth metropolitan area. More info at tafb.org.

The North Texas Food Bank was established in 1982 to address the critical issue of hunger in the North Texas area including Dallas, Denton, Collin, Fannin, Rockwall, Hunt, Grayson, Kaufman, Ellis, Navarro, Lamar, Delta and Hopkins. It is a certified member of Feeding America Food Bank Network. More info at ntfb.org.

Hawaiian Falls waterparks in Garland, Mansfield, The Colony and Roanoke are open Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day. More info at hfalls.com.

Story and photos by David Alvey.

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food drive, Garland, Hawaiian Falls, North Texas Food Bank, Splash Out Hunger, Tarrant Area Food Bank, The Colony