Three Wylie-area nonprofit leaders joined forces with Smith Public Library and Tango Charities over the summer to put lunches in the hands of local students as child food insecurity in Collin County climbed sharply.
Rebekah Rodgers of 5 Loaves Ministries, Audrey Wallace of Wylie Christian Care Center and Jon Bailey of Hope for the Cities organized the effort at the library, located at 300 Country Club Rd. in Wylie, the Wylie News reported Aug. 13.
The need is real. Feeding America's 2026 Map the Meal Gap report, released July 28, estimated that 53,040 Collin County children faced food insecurity in 2024, representing 18.4% of children in the county. That is up from 43,770 children and a 15.6% rate in 2023, according to Local Profile's reporting on the data.
The jump of more than 9,000 children in a single year made Collin County one of the more notable increases among counties served by the North Texas Food Bank.
As we reported Aug. 13, nearly 150,000 Collin County residents overall were estimated to lack consistent access to adequate food in 2024. About 54% of food-insecure households in the Dallas-Fort Worth region earn too much to qualify for SNAP benefits, leaving many working families caught between paychecks and grocery bills.
North Texas Food Bank president and CEO Trisha Cunningham said Aug. 12, responding to the Feeding America report's release, that families "are increasingly having to make tough decisions about whether to buy the groceries they need or pay for other essentials, such as gas, rent, medication or utilities."
Who's behind the effort
All three nonprofit leaders run organizations rooted in the Wylie and Sachse area:
- Rebekah Rodgers leads 5 Loaves Ministries, a Sachse-based nonprofit that feeds more than 800 local families weekly. The organization held its fourth annual Back 2 School Bash on July 18, serving 400 children.
- Audrey Wallace heads Wylie Christian Care Center, a nonprofit at 1310 W. Brown St. in Wylie that provides emergency food, clothing and financial assistance.
- Jon Bailey directs Hope for the Cities, whose Resource Center operates inside The Cross Church Event Center at 200 N. Ballard Ave. in downtown Wylie.
Tango Charities, the Dallas-based hunger nonprofit that partnered on the summer lunches, has provided more than 8 million meals since becoming a 501(c)(3) in 2020. Separately from the summer lunch partnership, the organization runs monthly Feed the City volunteer events in Wylie on the first Saturday of each month, 8:30–10:30 a.m.
How residents can help
Residents looking to support local hunger relief have several options:
- Saturday, Sept. 5, 8:30 a.m. — Tango Charities' next Feed the City volunteer event in Wylie
- Ongoing — Wylie Christian Care Center accepts donations at 1310 W. Brown St.; call 972-442-4341
- Weekly — 5 Loaves Ministries distributes food to families in Sachse
The average cost of a meal in the DFW region is $3.46, according to Feeding America, higher than the Texas statewide average of $3.17.
