Families can access fresh fruits, vegetables and other nutritious foods for free at Fort Worth’s Eastside YMCA thanks to a partnership with Cook Children’s and Texas Health Resources.
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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