While SMU celebrates its Centennial, the North Texas Food Bank (NTFB) is commemorating 30 years of service to the Dallas-Fort Worth Community.

In December, Jan Pruitt, the President and CEO of the North Texas Food Bank, met with SMU’s President, Gerald R. Turner, to discuss a collaboration that would “encourage new and on-going campus volunteer efforts with the North Texas Food Bank and our member agencies,” Kim Smith, the spokeswoman with the Food Bank, said.

For the last several years SMU has contributed to the NTFB to help resolve issues of hunger.

Students and faculty from the Cox School of Business, Lyle School of Engineering, Simmons School of Education, and Meadows School of the Arts, have all participated in donating time, money and resources to the NTFB.

The NTFB however is looking for a way to put the spotlight on ways that “SMU is making a difference in the community” while helping the organization to “increase awareness for our mission,” Smith said. “The purpose of the model is to align with the food bank, and shed light on the university, staff, and students, and their community involvement.”

The organization aims “to create a model that can be replicated with other universities,” Smith said.

The NTFB is hoping to launch the “Stampede Against Hunger” campaign with SMU in June, “putting a spotlight on the involvement of SMU students and staff in the community.” Smith said. “It’s about how SMU is making a difference in the community with programs that bring people together, foster neighborhood revitalization, and drive economic growth.”

The June time frame could not be any better for the NTFB, which sees an increase in hunger during the summer months.

“Summer’s the hungriest time of the year,” Taylor Hanna, the food bank’s child program director, said.

Because the majority of children in the Dallas Independent School District rely on free or reduced lunches during the school year, many families turn to the NTFB for meals during the summer.

“Hunger effects everyone,” Hanna said. “Parents don’t have to worry. We are going to feed their kids.”

While there are several other schools and organizations in the Dallas area that contribute to the NTFB, Smith said that it was important to launch this campaign with SMU because there’s “power in numbers. We are aligned with SMU already, so it’s a natural fit for us.”

**The Daily Campus reached out to Carol Clyde, the director of community engagement and leadership at SMU, who is helping to lead the initiative, but her office has not commented on or confirmed the partnership.