Dallas Teen Fights Food Insecurity with Hot Meals

Meet Daily Point of Light Award honoree Emily Tauhert. Read her story, and nominate an outstanding volunteer or family as a Daily Point of Light.

Three years ago, amidst the covid pandemic, 17-year-old Emily Tauhert formed the Dallas chapter of The Food Lounge to address the housing and hunger crises by serving hot meals to as many people as possible. The organization, founded by Ethan Poon, came about as a way to support struggling restaurants while feeding people hit hardest when the virus kept everyone at home.

Emily spends around 24 hours a month planning events and serving food every Saturday. When she’s not organizing volunteers, Emily spends much of her time playing flute in concert band and serving as drum major of the marching band. She is also a passionate artist who takes classes both at school and outside of it. Inspired in part by her sister, she hopes to study business or economics after high school and is getting an introduction to running an organization serving as president of The Food Lounge.

What inspires you to volunteer?

When The Food Lounge was first created, their mission really spoke to me. I was one of the first members, and through COVID, I saw many people worrying about where their next meal would come from. I’ve never had to worry about that, and I want to help them as much as I can.
My dad also works for a nonprofit, so I’ve seen how impactful they can be. He works with a company based in LA that focuses on various humanitarian issues and hosts competitions where participants try to solve some of the world’s biggest problems. That first inspired me to get into volunteering, but now it’s seeing the amount of homelessness and food insecurity in Dallas that keeps me going.

Tell us about your volunteer role with The Food Lounge.

Our goal is to serve as many people as possible with a hot, nutritious meal, which means a big portion of my time is spent strategizing how to do so. I’m in charge of running the 20-person Dallas leadership team. I manage our social media account and make sure everything’s working as well as reach out to potential partner organizations. I come up with new events and make sure the ones we implement run smoothly by ensuring we have all the materials needed, checking in with volunteers and addressing concerns that come up.

Our chapter has over 500 members from across the city who have collectively served around 400,000 meals since we started. We have people who, like me, go every week. But as we expand, we have new volunteers all the time. Some are as young as middle school and elementary school, which is a great way to instill our mission in leaders of the future.

You’ve raised $60,000. What kinds of things do you do to fundraise?

We get creative. Our chapter released a cookbook where volunteers wrote out the recipes for their favorite dishes and took pictures of the finished products. Then, the leadership team put it together. We’ve also made mosquito repellent to sell. One of our biggest events is in downtown Dallas where it’s hot and we’re on a big lot with a lot of bugs. We have a bunch of fundraisers where students will get together and create things that can be sold.

What’s been the most rewarding part of your work?

Seeing the smiles of people we are serving and how grateful they are to be given a nutritious meal. It reminds me of the impact our work has.

What have you learned through your experiences as a volunteer?

It’s important to be organized. As President, I also have to pick the leadership team. Finding good people that I can work with and trust to have The Food Lounge’s best interest in mind is vital. And I’ve learned all the little steps it takes to run an organization.

Have you discovered anything that you think the general population might overlook about people who are food insecure?

People assume certain things about the people that we’re serving. Just because they don’t have a meal in front of them doesn’t mean that they’re unhoused. It could just mean that they’re struggling to make ends meet, and I think it’s important to realize that. We’re serving everyone, no matter where they come from, and not judging someone for needing a meal.

Tell us about future partnerships, programs or events that you are excited about.

We do a yearly Christmas event where we partner with local restaurants we’ve supported from the beginning of The Food Lounge. They know our mission and donate hot food that we then pack into boxes to give to a local hospital. And we have a toy drive for all of the kids there.

We’ll also have a big event for Thanksgiving, serving food and distributing donated clothes. We started off dealing with food insecurity, but we’ve expanded. We host various donation drives and even hand out quarters so people can do laundry. Just because you have clothes doesn’t mean they’re getting washed.

As it gets colder, it’s even more important that people find a warm place to eat a meal and pick out some clothes and a jacket for the upcoming winter season. More people definitely come around this time of year.

How can people reading this take steps to address this issue where they live?

It all starts with a small idea. It could be reaching out to local restaurants or supermarkets who have leftover food. These items can be used and distributed in your community to help deal with food insecurity. A meal is a meal, and they’re a necessity.

What do you want people to learn from your story?

It’s important to do something you enjoy. The Food Lounge has brought me a lot of joy, and I continue to volunteer every week because I see my impact and the impact that the organization has had. Doing something that you have passion for means you’ll be willing to put in the work.

Do you want to make a difference in your community like Emily? Find local volunteer opportunities.