The North Texas Food Bank hosted a special event Nov. 5 at its Perot Family Campus in Plano to recognize the Nihao Food Bank Initiative’s sponsorship of a food distribution truck through the holidays.
The initiative is a Chinese American, volunteer-driven grassroots movement. Its goal is to raise awareness about hunger in North Texas, improve community engagement among Chinese Americans and direct resources toward NTFB to fight hunger.
Since launching in May 2021, Nihao has engaged more than 475 members and raised more than $183,000, and has volunteered 2,100 hours helping at NTFB’s warehouse, fundraising and community events like its recent Dragon Boat Race and Lantern Festival in Irving. In addition, Nihao started a Youth Ambassadors program and has 96 high school students who volunteer and fundraise for the NTFB.
“We are so grateful for the support of organizations like Nihao that recognize the growing issue of hunger and look for innovative ways to contribute to the organizations addressing this complex problem,” said Trisha Cunningham, NTFB president and CEO.
“In just a short time they have made a significant impact in our mission of hunger relief and are mentoring the next generation of community leaders through their Youth Ambassadors program.”
Nihao’s founders are Jane Li, director of operations for Siemens Logistics; James Huang, a managing partner at EA Insurance and financial services; and Bing Xie, former executive officer and SVP of global sales and applications at Texas Instruments.
“We are excited to unveil the Nihao truck co-branded with North Texas Food Bank,” Xie said.
“This traveling billboard will highlight how the Chinese American community is partnering with NTFB to provide access to nutritious food for the more than 700,000 people facing hunger in North Texas and serves as a visual reminder of what community groups can do in the fight against hunger when they come together to make an impact. For the Nihao members, it is just part of our continued effort to mobilize and engage the already civic-minded Chinese American community.”
Last week, the NTFB recognized Nihao as the Top Community Group for raising funds and collecting peanut butter for its annual peanut butter drive. For the second year in a row, they hosted a community competition and held multiple drives throughout the Peanut Butter Campaign. This year, they raised $25,876 and donated more than 5,000 pounds of peanut butter.
The NTFB is a hunger-relief nonprofit that sources, packages and distributes food through a network of more than 400 feeding partners across 13 North Texas counties. The organization also provides food to children, seniors and families through direct-delivery programs, including mobile pantries.
