Cook Children's Opens New Mobile Grocery Store to Connect Families with Food and Resources

Families in Denton, Wise and Cooke Counties now have more access to healthy food and resources through a new partnership between Cook Children’s, Tarrant Area Food Bank (TAFB) and H-E-B Hunger Relief. The R.E.D Market was unveiled at a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Serve Denton this morning. R.E.D. is an acronym for Resources and Education Delivered, and represents the core mission of the partnership. 

“The R.E.D Market is essentially a grocery store on wheels. It’s a refrigerated trailer that includes shelves just like a supermarket, which are stocked with items such fresh fruits, vegetables and dairy items,” said Becki Hale, assistant vice president of the Center for Community Health at Cook Children’s. “Our partnership with Tarrant Area Food Bank and H-E-B is one of the many ways we, along with Cook Children’s Health Plan, are working together to address food insecurity in our region.”

According to Cook Children’s 2021 Community Health Needs Assessment, an estimated 303,000 children (nearly one in four) in Cook Children’s eight-county service area live in households that cannot always afford nutritious foods.

“Cook Children’s partnership with Tarrant Area Food Bank and H-E-B is critical because children who don’t get enough to eat — especially during their first three years — begin life at a serious disadvantage,” said Karen Love, President of Cook Children’s Health Plan. “Children facing hunger are more likely to experience problems in school. They’re also more likely to be hospitalized and face risks of serious health conditions such as anemia and asthma.”

The R.E.D. Market vehicle will make multiple stops in a single day, connecting families to food, SNAP benefits and additional community resources to address housing, education, and employment. TAFB will work with Cook Children’s to identify specific community neighborhoods in need based on income and food insecurity screening data.

“As we continue to provide community support to relieve the effects of inflation, we are deepening our roots through TAFB North in Denton County by launching solutions that bring our services to neighbors in rural underserved communities where transportation may be lacking,” said Julie Butner, President and CEO of Tarrant Area Food Bank. “TAFB, in partnership through the generosity of Cook Children’s and H-E-B will provide emergency food boxes, nutrition education, as well as facilitate enrollment of eligible families into federal benefits programs such as SNAP and Medicaid.”

The R.E.D. Market will be deployed to various locations across Denton, Wise and Cooke Counties. You can find more information about its scheduled stops on TAFB’s website. To request the R.E.D. Market at a community event, please fill out TAFB’s request form.