Dallas, Nov. 12, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- North Texas Food Bank’s former board Chair Anurag Jain was honored by the Dallas Business Journal in the category of Individual Non-Profit Board at their Outstanding Directors Awards via a virtual ceremony on November 5, 2020. Jain served on the North Texas Food Bank Board for eight years including three years as board chair. During this time, the Food Bank faced several changes and challenges including the creation of a strategic vision with a goal to distribute 92 million meals by 2025, the passing of longtime CEO Jan Pruitt, the hiring of new CEO Trisha Cunningham, the completion of a historic $55M capital campaign and nearly tripling operations capacity with the opening of the Perot Family Campus distribution and volunteer center in Plano.
Jain’s service and leadership are characterized by Food Bank staff as innovative and enthusiastic with a focus on solutions to community needs. At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, when NTFB saw a significant decline in volunteer participation, Jain knew that there was an opportunity to help support displaced hospitality employees, looking for work after cutbacks due to the pandemic. Alongside business partner Patrick Brandt, Jain created a special fund called Get Shift Done that would provide out of work people with an income in exchange for support at local non-profits. Their work helped the North Texas Food Bank and several other non-profits continue their critical missions during a time when the need for these services was dire. Launched in March, the effort has grown to ten additional cities and has helped serve more than 50 million meals with support from more than 22,000 workers and 110 nonprofit partners.
“Anurag has been a dedicated, giving and strong leader for NTFB and a supportive thought partner. He is a hunger hero and we are thrilled that the Dallas Business Journal has recognized his immense contributions to our community,” said Trisha Cunningham, President and CEO of the North Texas Food Bank. “It is amazing to think about how much progress our organization has made during these last few years and a great deal of credit goes to our board and especially Anurag, who championed our employees, our mission and worked closely with generous donors to help us achieve our goals. His vision for our community has always been crystal clear, as evidenced by the establishment of the Get Shift Done initiative. I am proud that this was launched in North Texas and has grown steadily since March. Anurag is laser focused on supporting our community and I am thankful for his leadership as well as his friendship.”
Recently the Food Bank exceeded its 2025 meal goal of 92 million meals. Because of increased need and distributions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Food Bank provided access to nearly 97 million nutritious meals at the end of Fiscal Year 2020. Jain has passed the board chair torch to Michael Brookshire with a new goal to sustain operations to meet the elevated need.
"We established the position of Chairman Emeritus for Anurag to continue his support and leadership as the NTFB grows and expands in the years ahead," said Cunningham.
As Chairman Emeritus, Jain will continue to provide support to the North Texas Food Bank.
“Fate brought me to NTFB, but it was the people and their commitment to the issue of hunger which kept me engaged with this critical mission,” said Anurag Jain, Board Chair Emeritus for the North Texas Food Bank. “It is humbling and gratifying to be associated with an organization like NTFB. Together, we were able to provide more meals than ever before, and that need continues to increase due to COVID-19. I am proud of the work that we did together to establish Get Shift Done. This program was successful and a model effort, thanks to the collaboration of generous donors, great teamwork within the nonprofit organizations served as well as the willingness of the frontline employees who wanted to make sure to support their communities while also earning an income. I am grateful to the NTFB for the nomination and I accept it in honor of my fellow board members as well as the staff who have worked tirelessly to provide healthy meals for neighbors in need.”
For more information about the Dallas Business Journal Outstanding Directors Awards please visit https://www.bizjournals.com/Dallas
To learn more about the Get Shift Done Initiative, please visit https://www.getshiftdone.org/
About the North Texas Food Bank: The North Texas Food Bank (NTFB) is a top-ranked nonprofit hunger-relief organization operating a state-of-the-art volunteer and distribution center in Plano, the Perot Family Campus. Last year, the Food Bank worked hard in partnership with member agencies from our Feeding Network to provide access to almost 97 million nutritious meals across a diverse 13- county service area, exceeding our goal by five years to provide access to 92 million annual meals by 2025. But the need for hunger relief is complex and in order to meet the continued need, the NTFB is always working to increase our food distribution efforts and bridge the hunger gap for children, seniors, and families in North Texas. NTFB is a member of Feeding America, a national hunger-relief organization.
About Anurag Jain: Anurag Jain is a futurist, a consummate entrepreneur, philanthropist and venture capitalist focused on charting a better course for humanity by pioneering solutions to the world’s most complex problems. Jain’s ability to harness and leverage technology paired with his visionary global mindset has enabled him to successfully launch multiple companies. He is currently the Chairman of Access Healthcare, a healthcare services platform utilizing AI and robotic process automation (RPA) to transform the revenue cycle management industry. He is also Managing Partner of Perot Jain, a venture capital firm, where he has invested heavily across various exponential technologies to help build highly disruptive, industry transforming companies. Jain views philanthropy and corporate social responsibility as core tenets in his personal life and business.
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