Meet Trisha Cunningham

We had the good fortune of connecting with Trisha Cunningham and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Trisha, is your business focused on helping the community? If so, how?
At the North Texas Food Bank, our mission is to close the hunger gap by providing access to nutritious food. New data released from Feeding America in May shows that Texas now leads the nation in hunger, surpassing California, with nearly 5 million people facing hunger. The 13-county area served by the North Texas Food Bank has the fourth-highest food-insecure population in the U.S., with nearly 778,000 people experiencing food insecurity, or 1 in 7.
While Texas boasts of being bigger in many aspects, leading the nation in food insecurity is not a badge of honor we can wear proudly. In the heart of North Texas, where the number of people facing hunger is greater than the population of cities like Seattle or San Francisco, the statistic that strikes hardest is nearly 40% of those in need are children, and that is just unacceptable.
The NTFB is committed to meeting that need through the dedication of generous supporters and steadfast partnerships. NTFB is currently distributing around 400,000 meals a day, primarily through our network of 500 partner pantries and community organizations that provide neighbors with access to food in the communities where they work and live. NTFB also runs direct feeding programs, including its School Pantry program, a Food 4 Kids backpack program that provides students with bags full of nonperishable food each Friday afternoon, a dedicated senior program and mobile distributions. In the last fiscal year, the NTFB provided access to 144 million meals—a 5% increase from the previous year and the most-ever meals in our history.
We are also working not just to provide nutritious food but also to provide hope for tomorrow through strategic programs and partnerships that target the underlying barriers to food security. Those programs include things like workforce development classes at partner agencies as well as new initiatives like our FoodRx program, which allows partner medical clinics to provide patients with Food Prescriptions that they can redeem regularly at partner food pantries for access to produce and other nutritious food.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Prior to the North Texas Food Bank, I spent 30 years in global marketing, communications, branding and public affairs at Texas Instruments, most recently serving as Chief Citizenship Officer. While there, I founded the Dallas Fort Worth Corporate Citizenship Network creating a collaborative model for area corporations to strengthen social impact and sustainability. After 30 years at TI, I like to say that I “graduated” and decided I wanted to use all of the knowledge and skills I had gained there for a more direct community impact, which is what led me to the North Texas Food Bank. In addition to my leadership there, I also serve as a director (chair) for Feeding Texas, the International Women’s Forum Dallas Chapter, and formerly on the board for Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas.
I am member of the University of Texas at Dallas (UTD) Institute for Excellence in Corporate Governance, Leadership Women, Rotary Club of Park Cities, Dallas Regional Chamber (DRC) Executive Women’s Roundtable, DRC Leadership Dallas Alumni, United Way Women of Tocqueville, and The Dallas Assembly. I also serve on national Feeding America committees where the North Texas Food Bank is a member.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
• Monday – Make a stop at H-E-B on the way from the airport to enjoy a barbecue-stuffed baked potato, pick up any essentials (including their favorite Blue Bell or Creamy Creations ice cream flavor); • Tuesday – A tour and volunteer shift at the North Texas Food Bank in the morning followed by a casual lunch at Sky Rocket Burger in Plano; In the afternoon, head to The Star in Frisco for the Cowboys facility/history tour, and then to Grandscape for shopping, activities and food.
• Wednesday – Lunch at Chocolate Angel in Plano or Richardson and then catch a weekday evening show or sports game – Broadway Dallas, Dallas Theater Centre or the AT&T Performing Arts have great options; or, in the summer, catch a Texas Rangers game at Globe Life Field in Arlington or a Frisco RoughRiders Game at Riders Field.
• Thursday – Breakfast at Fairview Farmers and then head down to the Dallas Arboretum including afternoon high tea and a Cool Thursday concert that evening
• Friday – Experience the wonderful museums in Dallas including the Perot Museum, Holocaust and Human Rights, Dallas Museum of Art, Nasher Sculpture Center, Crow Collection – including lunch at ‘Food Truck Friday’ at Klyde Warren Park; In the evening, head to The Gar Hole in Westminster for a casual dinner and Texas live music experience (and you must stop by Buc-ee’s on the way in Melissa).
• Saturday – Enjoy a day of shopping in downtown McKinney; Pop over to Tupps Brewery for some live music before dinner at Harvest, a farm-to-table restaurant, and then a nightcap at the Room One Eleven speakeasy.
• Sunday – Attend worship service with my family and then head back to Rick’s Chophouse in McKinney for their Sunday brunch.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I grew up in Western Kentucky where the norm was not to go to college. However, my parents believed in the power of education. Even though they only had the opportunity to get an eighth-grade formal education, it was their dream that my brother and I ‘were going to college.’ We were told that from a young age. Their positive reinforcement and their sacrifices were pivotal in our attaining our college and career achievements. Every day I realize how fortunate I was to have parents who believed in me. My hope is that the parents who may be struggling right now and need services like the North Texas Food Bank and our feeding network provide, continue to dream big for their families and their children. Those dreams are possible.

Website: ntfb.org

Instagram: @northtexasfoodbank

Linkedin: linkedin.com/company/northtexasfoodbank

Twitter: @ntfb

Facebook: facebook.com/northtexasfoodbank

Youtube: youtube.com/channel/UCFA0yDJ7tVMwGSxQVdsSf-Q

Image Credits
North Texas Food Bank.