Last week, the North Texas Food Bank recognized Nihao as the Top Community Group for raising funds and collecting peanut butter during its annual peanut butter drive. For the second year in a row, they hosted a community competition and held multiple drives. This helped them raise $25,876 and donate over 5,000 pounds of peanut butter.
On Saturday, the food bank hosted a special event at its Perot Family Campus in Plano to recognize the Nihao Food Bank Initiative’s sponsorship of a food distribution truck through the holidays.
“We are so grateful for the support of organizations like Nihao that recognize the growing issue of hunger and look for innovative ways to contribute to the organizations addressing this complex problem,” NTFB President and CEO Trisha Cunningham said. “In just a short time they have made a significant impact in our mission of hunger relief and are mentoring the next generation of community leaders through their Youth Ambassadors program.”
Nihao Food Bank Initiative is a Chinese American, volunteer-driven grassroots movement. Its goal is to raise awareness about hunger in North Texas, improve community engagement among Chinese Americans, and direct resources toward NTFB to fight hunger.
Since launching in May 2021, Nihao has engaged over 475 members and raised more than $183,000. They have volunteered 2,100 hours helping at NTFB’s warehouse, fundraising, and community events like the recent Dragon Boat Race and Lantern Festival in Irving. In addition, Nihao started a Youth Ambassadors program and now has 96 dedicated high school students who volunteer and fundraise for NTFB.
Nihao was founded by Jane Li, Director of Operations for Siemens Logistics, James Huang, a Managing Partner at EA Insurance and Financial Services, Bing Xie, former Executive officer and SVP of Global Sales and Applications at Texas Instruments.
“We are excited to unveil the Nihao truck co-branded with North Texas Food Bank,” Co-founder Bing Xie said. “This traveling billboard will highlight how the Chinese American community is partnering with NTFB to provide access to nutritious food for the more than 700,000 people facing hunger in North Texas and serves as a visual reminder of what community groups can do in the fight against hunger when they come together to make an impact. For the Nihao members, it is just part of our continued effort to mobilize and engage the already civic-minded Chinese American community.”