FORT WORTH, Texas \u2014 The Purple Pantry location at Tarleton State’s Fort Worth campus has officially earned Ready to Nourish\u2122 Market certification through the Tarrant Area Food Bank, making it the first university in Texas to receive the designation while expanding access to fresh, high-quality food and additional community resources for students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe are honored to receive the Ready to Nourish\u2122 designation,\u201d said Dr. Diana Ortega, Vice President for Student Engagement and Success. \u201cThis recognition reflects Tarleton State University\u2019s commitment to student well-being and success by ensuring students have access to the resources they need to thrive. The Purple Pantry plays a vital role in supporting students and helping them achieve their educational goals.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Ready to Nourish\u2122 initiative is Tarrant Area Food Bank\u2019s comprehensive, nutrition-focused program designed to reduce nutrition insecurity through education, access to healthy foods, and community partnerships. The program brings organizations together to identify community health needs, implement evidence-based interventions and improve long-term health outcomes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cStudent success begins with meeting the basic needs of our students,\u201d said Isabel Talamantes, Student Resources and Basic Needs Manager for the Division of Student Engagement and Success at Tarleton State. \u201cAs the first university in Texas to earn this certification, Tarleton State continues to lead with purpose, ensuring our Texans are supported, nourished and empowered to succeed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a Ready to Nourish Certified Market, the Purple Pantry in Fort Worth will expand support for Tarleton State students by providing greater access to nutritious food options, nutrition education, and community resources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201c<\/a>We are proud to recognize Tarleton State University as the first university in Texas to earn Ready to Nourish\u2122 Market certification,\u201d said Julie Butner, President and CEO of Tarrant Area Food Bank. \u201cThis achievement reflects Tarleton’s commitment to student success by expanding access to nutritious food, nutrition education, and supportive resources that equip students to thrive academically, build lifelong healthy habits, and reach their full potential. \u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The partnership strengthens a unified network focused on improving student well-being, reducing food insecurity and ensuring students have the resources they need to thrive both academically and personally. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Additionally, the Purple Pantry in Fort Worth recently implemented the Supporting Wellness at Pantries (SWAP) nutrition ranking system. Signage and educational materials on recipes and how to identify nutrition information have also been added to the space. This system helps pantry guests make informed food selections while encouraging balanced, nutritious eating habits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Purple Pantry in Fort Worth, located in the Campus Administration Building, offers frozen, refrigerated, and shelf-stable foods, personal care products, academic supplies, baby and toddler food, and diapers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To learn more about The Purple Pantry, visit tarleton.edu\/purplepantry\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" FORT WORTH, Texas \u2014 The Purple Pantry location at Tarleton State’s Fort Worth campus has officially earned Ready to Nourish\u2122 Market certification through the Tarrant Area Food Bank, making it …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":54,"featured_media":55452,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"advgb_blocks_editor_width":"","advgb_blocks_columns_visual_guide":"","wds_primary_category":421,"footnotes":""},"categories":[425,421,426],"tags":[457],"class_list":["post-55451","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-campus-community","category-featuredstories","category-honors-achievements","tag-tarleton-state-fort-worth"],"acf":{"image":false},"author_meta":{"display_name":"priddle","author_link":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/author\/priddle-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2\/"},"featured_img":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/65\/2026\/07\/Fort-Worth-CAB-300x200.png","coauthors":[],"tax_additional":{"categories":{"linked":["Campus & Community<\/a>","Featured Stories<\/a>","Honors & Achievements<\/a>"],"unlinked":["Campus & Community<\/span>","Featured Stories<\/span>","Honors & Achievements<\/span>"]},"tags":{"linked":["Tarleton State Fort Worth<\/a>"],"unlinked":["Tarleton State Fort Worth<\/span>"]}},"comment_count":0,"relative_dates":{"created":"Posted 7 hours ago","modified":"Updated 7 hours ago"},"absolute_dates":{"created":"Posted on July 23, 2026","modified":"Updated on July 23, 2026"},"absolute_dates_time":{"created":"Posted on July 23, 2026 4:00 pm","modified":"Updated on July 23, 2026 3:40 pm"},"featured_img_caption":"","series_order":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55451","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/54"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55451"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55451\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":55453,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55451\/revisions\/55453"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/55452"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55451"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55451"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55451"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}