Now, the organization has a new home―one thoughtfully designed and customized to support its operations and enhance the experience of those it serves. Located at the new neighborhood health center serving the Las Vegas Trail area, West Aid joins JPS Health Network, Cook Children’s Health Care System, The City of Fort Worth, and LVTRise in a landmark collaboration aimed at ending the area’s long-standing status as a food and health care desert.

The more centralized location brings West Aid closer to the majority of those in its service area, which comprises seven zip codes—76107, 76108, 76109, 76114, 76116, 76126 and 76008. Each year, West Aid provides food for about 10,000 Fort Worth households. In 2024, the organization distributed goods valued at more than $1 million.

William Pherigo, MRE, has been the executive director of West Aid for 30 years. He believes integrating the food pantry into the center is a natural fit.

“Food is medicine, so it just makes sense with how important food and nutrition are to health that West Aid is located at the center,” Pherigo said. “It just completes the health and wellness circle there.”

Poor nutrition can lead to a wide range of chronic health issues, such as diabetes, heart disease and obesity, as well as fragile mental and emotional health. But when faced with a lack of convenient food sources and limited financial resources, it’s not always easy to find or afford healthy food options. In Las Vegas Trail, 32% of people live below the poverty level. For those that don’t, many still struggle to afford the basics of housing, childcare, food, transportation, health care and technology, according to West Aid.

“It's important that people know that food security can affect a lot of different people,” Pherigo said. “I think sometimes people decide that those who need help with food live on another side of town or in somebody else's neighborhood. But we see people that may just come once or twice, and that's all. They just need a little help. There are different reasons why people find themselves needing our services.”

Kenneth Janak began volunteering with West Aid last year following his retirement from Texas Christian University where he was the senior associate athletic director and chief financial officer for athletics. Twice a week, Janak picks up donations from an area grocer and delivers them to West Aid.

“I knew when I retired, I couldn't be one of those people who sit around and watch TV all day,” Janak said. “My goal is to do something for my body, mind, and soul every day. Sometimes the soul part means going out and helping others. And, by the way, I'm over there lifting these crates of food that are 40 and 50 pounds. So it's helping my body all at the same time. But to be around there for over a year now, it makes me realize how important it is that we all work together to help each other.”

Janak is most excited about the new and improved experience visitors will have as they shop the shelves.

“The new space is built specifically for us,” Janak said. “It has amazing cold storage with a big separate walk-in refrigerator and a big separate walk-in freezer. So now we can do what the grocery stores do. You step up to the refrigerator and open the glass door and pull out your milk, and the workers are stocking it from behind. That's what we're able to do now. We didn't have that kind of capacity before. I love the new space.”

The support for West Aid guests doesn’t stop with groceries. After all, what is the value of a bag full of nutritious food if you don’t know how to prepare it or have the cooking resources to do so? This is where the center’s demonstration kitchen and full-time on-site dietitian will complete the food security circle. The kitchen is designed to welcome LVT residents for cooking classes and nutrition counseling and education. Here, guests will learn how to choose and prepare healthy meals on a budget using everything from a hot plate, microwave or crock pot to a full cooking range and oven.

West Aid and the center's partners are doing more than handing out groceries. They’re ensuring that no one in Las Vegas Trail has to wonder where their next meal—or their next chance at wellness—will come from. Visit West Aid’s website to learn more about how you can help.

Families can access fresh fruits, vegetables and other nutritious foods for free at Fort Worth’s

The renovated Eastside YMCA opened January 27 with new amenities including a Good For You Healthy Hub to help fight food insecurity in the surrounding neighborhood.

The Center for Community Health, led by Cook Children’s, is funding the hub’s startup costs and the first two years of operation. The center will offer classes on nutrition, gardening and preparing meals in the YMCA’s demonstration kitchen as part of the collaboration. Education will also cover healthy lifestyle topics such as exercise, sleep and limits on screen time. 

The new hub at Eastside YMCA functions within the network of Good For You locations operated by Texas Health. Teaming up allows the YMCA to tap the library of materials, engagement opportunities and partner connections at both Texas Health and Cook Children’s. 

The Eastside YMCA, located at 1500 Sandy Lane, serves an area of east Fort Worth where the Cook Children’s footprint is growing. Just a few miles to the north on Manhattan Boulevard, a new Cook Children’s neighborhood health center is scheduled to open in May 2025. 

Cook Children’s investment at Eastside YMCA aligns with our Promise: Knowing every child’s life is sacred, we promise to improve the well-being of every child in our care and communities. It’s the latest example of the center taking action to address hunger in an eight-county region of North Texas.

Courtney Barnard, the center’s Director of Child Wellness, said area residents already know the reputation for outstanding pediatric care at Cook Children’s medical centers and clinics. By sponsoring a hub, the center takes that commitment beyond the Blue Peaks to put nutritious food within convenient reach of those in need.  

“What Cook Children’s does really well is understanding that health is not just the absence of being sick, or going to a doctor to get treated when you are sick,” Barnard said. “The joy we have at the Center for Community Health is getting to work in spaces outside of the traditional medical setting to impact the well-being of kids and families.”

The Big Picture

Food insecurity occurs whenever all people in a household don’t consistently have enough food to live an active, healthy life. They might lack the money or the transportation to buy groceries. Some people in the household might eat smaller portions or skip meals altogether so that others have enough.

According to the Cook Children’s 2024 Community Health Needs Assessment, in our eight-county service area approximately 34% of children ages birth to 17 (about 390,100 children and teens) live in households that cannot always afford to eat good, nutritious meals. This compares to 40% of children statewide and 33% nationally.

Food insecurity among children can impact:

• Physical health, including higher risk for anemia and asthma
• Mental health
• Ability to focus and learn

“The limited or uncertain access to enough food is a critical child health issue that impacts millions of infants, children, youth and families in all communities across the U.S.,” according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. “Children of all ages who live in households with food insecurity, even at the least severe levels of food insecurity, are likely to be sick more often, recover from illness more slowly, and be hospitalized more frequently.” 

Making Connections

Texas Health supports 20 Good For You Healthy Hubs in schools and community centers across Tarrant County. The hubs focus on nutrition security, emphasizing seasonal produce and nutrient-dense staples such as beans, legumes and whole grains that are necessary for living a healthy, active lifestyle. Fresh fruits and vegetables make up at least half of the food selection.

“When it comes to improving health outcomes in our community, overcoming barriers to accessing healthy food is critically important,” said Matt Dufrene, Vice President, Texas Health. “We’re proud to collaborate with Cook Children’s and the YMCA to offer innovative programs like Good For You that support the health and well-being of residents in east Fort Worth.” 

On average, each hub serves about 70-100 families per month.  As in a grocery store, clients choose the foods they want. Recipes, resources and nutrition information are also provided. Toiletries and diapers are available in some hubs.

“Nutritious food is a fundamental human right, not a luxury,” said Beverly Brown, Director of Operations, YMCA of Metropolitan Fort Worth. She thanked Texas Health and Cook Children’s for making the Good For You Healthy Hub a reality.

After the Eastside YMCA closed in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, it needed extensive repairs and renovations before reopening in January 2025. The $16 million, three-phase construction project was designed to create a Community Impact Center. In addition to usual YMCA attractions -- fitness center and swimming pool, for instance -- the transformed Eastside facility includes the hub and spaces for early learning, leadership and workforce development.

Targeting the problem of food insecurity isn’t a new goal for Cook Children’s. For years, the center has collaborated with Texas Health and many other organizations to plant community gardens and provide education around healthy lifestyle behaviors. In 2023, the center and Cook Children’s Health Plan partnered with Tarrant Area Food Bank and H-E-B Hunger Relief to roll out the R.E.D. Mobile Market, providing food staples and application assistance to receive SNAP benefits (food stamps). And, as part of a pilot, select departments across Cook Children’s are screening patient and program families for food insecurity and providing food either onsite or delivered to the family’s home.

Center program coordinator Dora Garcia described the hub as a beautiful and welcoming space, where people are respected and seen as neighbors.

“We’re providing food to meet their immediate need,” Garcia said. “Their long-term needs are going to be met through the education and resources on making good food choices, physical activity and other kinds of education to live the healthiest life they can.”

Barnard said the hub illustrates one way Cook Children’s strives to enhance the well-being of all children in the region, regardless of whether they’re patients at one of our sites.   

“It’s not just for those coming through our hospital doors, but how can we help and be present for the community as a whole,” Barnard said. “They know Cook Children’s not only as their friendly neighborhood pediatrician, but also as an organization that gives back to the community.”

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