Jan Pruitt

In Memoriam:
Jan Pruitt

Jan Pruitt dedicated her life to ensuring that hungry North Texans had access to healthy foods. The bulk of her career was at the helm of the North Texas Food Bank (NTFB) where she served as President and Chief Executive Officer from 1997 through 2016.

Thanks to Jan and her staff, more than a half billion meals were put on the table for local families in need. Under her leadership, the NTFB experienced exponential growth – and today, the organization provides hungry North Texans access to 190,000 meals each day.

Jan believed that access to healthy foods is a human right. She was an innovator, a problem solver, and a big thinker. Her creativity, vision and passion, combined with her fundraising success, transformed NTFB into an organization that makes an even greater difference in the lives of families facing hunger.

In the first year of the Food Bank, the organization distributed 400,000 pounds of food that would have otherwise gone to waste. Today the organization distributes more than a million pounds of donated and purchased food every week.

This brainchild of Jan’s was simple in concept: feed the line, while shortening the line. Fulfilling that goal required generating more community support, more efficiently distributing food into the community and better understanding the needs of clients. Thanks to a strong foundation, the leadership at the NTFB is working to fulfill her vision of a hunger-free North Texas and will open a new volunteer and distribution warehouse and establish mini food banks across the region that will make nutritious foods more accessible.

Through her work, Jan turned the NTFB from a virtually unknown organization into one that is nationally recognized by Charity Navigator with a four star ranking - the highest mark an organization can receive. Jan instilled in her employees and supporters a passion that will shine brightly long after her passing with a commitment to fulfill her favorite mantra, “be the light you wish to see in the world."

.

[Return to the Awards Event Page]