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Metrocrest warns of food‑supply and donation shortfalls, asks Coppell for $61,625 increase
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Summary
Metrocrest Services reported rising demand and possible cuts in food-bank supplies and private donations; the nonprofit asked Coppell for a $61,625 increase for FY2025–26 to maintain food, housing and senior services while it pursues other revenue strategies.
Metrocrest Services, the nonprofit that runs a large food pantry and social‑service hub serving Coppell and surrounding cities, told the Coppell City Council on Tuesday it is facing a potential supply and revenue shortfall and asked the city for an additional $61,625 in fiscal 2025–26 funding.
Tracy Eubanks, Metrocrest’s CEO, said the agency served about 24,000 individuals in the last year and is on pace to serve roughly 28,000 this year. She said federal funding cuts and a looming reduction in North Texas Food Bank purchasing power could force the region to lose hundreds of thousands of pounds of donated food.
“We are seeing a greater demand for services this year,” Eubanks said in her presentation. She warned that North Texas Food Bank’s expected reduction in USDA support could translate into a loss of about 1 million pounds of food out of a roughly 5 million pound distribution total — a shortfall Metrocrest says would significantly increase cost and pressure on its operations.
Eubanks said Metrocrest itself receives less than 5% of its budget from federal grants but that many smaller partner agencies do not have the same diversification; as those partners reduce or cut programs, some clients will migrate to Metrocrest. She also noted a roughly 20% decline in nongovernmental donations since January, which the organization estimates at about $350,000 short of prior expectations.
To respond, Metrocrest has heightened donor outreach, is “stocking shelves” campaigns, expanding resale-store revenues, scrutinizing expenses, maintaining a hiring freeze and drawing on emergency reserves. The agency said it would prefer to avoid cutting services and asked Coppell for help while it executes those adjustments.
In its FY23–24 reporting, Metrocrest recorded 742 Coppell residents served; its projection for a fiscally conservative FY25–26 budget assumed only a 4% local increase but the agency warned that, if the current demand trend continues, Coppell participants could approach 1,000 in the coming year.
Mayor Pro Tem Don Carroll and other council members thanked Metrocrest for its work; several members said they were supportive and expressed appreciation for the nonprofit’s “start with yes” approach. Council did not take an immediate funding vote; staff will include Metrocrest’s request in the upcoming budget process for formal consideration.
