About Us – Smart Choices Texas

Smart Choices Texas

Who We Are

We Empower People

Our Mission

Smart Choices Texas has a mission to transform the lives of our most vulnerable population; children, older adults, Veterans, and people with disabilities. We work to banish poverty and nourish underserved communities through food relief, education, street outreach for homeless youth, domestic disaster relief, and small business development. Cultivating a path of smarter, healthier, stronger, abundant communities.

Smart Choices Texas is a registered 501(c)(3) Nonprofit Organization.

Our Vision

The vision is to foster good health, good nutrition, positive energy, human dignity, and the opportunity for individuals to meet their full potential. Breaking destructive generational cycles developing prosperous families. Thus fueling the future by empowering people with knowledge, tools, and the resources they need to elevate.

Our Purpose

Grow healthier, smarter communities by providing access to high-quality healthy food and resources in underserved areas. Transform lives by teaching healthier lifestyle choices, increase graduation rates, reduce teen homelessness, and create impactful programs that promote self-sufficiency, stimulate small business growth that expand economic opportunities and create thriving urban communities.

Our Core Values.

EMPOWERMENT

We celebrate the potential in people to build stronger, long-term success.

INTEGRITY

Reliable, trusted to do what's right, transparent, & strong.

WE LOVE OUR COMMUNITY

We hold ourselves accountable by creating programs that elevate the community.

SERVICE TO OTHERS

We put our words into action.

TEAMWORK

Ego's aside, everyone plays an important role in our mission.

Last Year By The Numbers.....

Diapers and Baby Wipes Given to Parents

Clients Received Counseling Services

Clients Received Food Assistance

Homeless Youth Gainfully Employed & Have Stable Housing

Children Received Clothing and School Supplies

Toys Given to Children For Birthdays & Our Annual Holiday Celebration

Our Story

It all began with groceries.

In 2013, our Founder & Executive Director’s daughter joined the Girls Scouts of America and almost every night of the week her daughter’s friends asked to stay over for dinner. After chatting with their parents she discovered the families were experiencing food shortages also known as “Food Insecurity”. Mrs. McKinley began providing the families with monthly care packages that included not only food but paper products, laundry items, and toiletries also.

They asked what was her secret? How was she able to afford groceries & Etc. for three families including her own? Simple, Mrs. McKinley is a Survival Enthusiast/Prepper and an Extreme Couponer. Therefore, the majority of the items were ALL FREE!

Mrs. McKinley decided to share her special skills & knowledge with the families and she held free classes in her basement back in Missouri. She taught them homesteading: Emergency preparedness, couponing, financial planning, canning, sewing, and other valuable survival skills. They even went fishing several times a year. Which made fantastic family-fun events. Within a few months each of the families she helped had a deep freezer full of food, fully stocked pantry, and a well-organized stockpile of household essentials. The group grew a strong bond and started feeding the homeless, hosting toy/food drives, and donation events to benefit various local nonprofit children’s organizations.

Tranformed into a passion to help families.

Helping the community had become a passion for Mrs. McKinley and inspired her to form the nonprofit Smart Choices St. Louis in 2013. An organization dedicated to at-risk youth with a major focus on after-school education, mental health, and nutrition. Due to a career opportunity with Texas Instruments Mrs. McKinley relocated to the Dallas area in 2018.

To continue her mission, she formed Smart Choices Texas. We work in conjunction with Elementary – High Schools throughout the Dallas-Fort-Worth area. School principals, truancy officers, and counselors refer youth who are identified as at-risk to our nonprofit. Our other services and programs focus on our most vulnerable population – older adults, Veterans, and people with disabilities, however everyone is welcome.

Smart Choices Texas does not discriminate on the basis of race, creed, color, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, familial status, marital status, pregnancy, age, disability status or veteran status. We are not affiliated with any religious organizations. If you know someone who needs help advise them to call us at (214)526-3600.

How We Can Help

FIGHT FOOD INSECURITY & HUNGER

Groceries, personal hygiene, and household items for those in need. With a focus on families with small children, older adults, Veterans, and people with disabilities. Hunger is a silent but solvable epidemic. This crisis extends far beyond growling stomachs. It affects our economy and our future.

STEM EDUCATION FOR STUDENTS

Comprehensive Evidence-based After-School Programing for at-risk children and youth. We provide homework assistance, tutoring, mentoring, hands-on science, engineering, art, technology, music, dance activities as well as structured recreation designed to complement school curriculum.

HOMELESS YOUTH OUTREACH

Street Outreach is an intensive 2-5 year program offering crisis intervention, counseling, advocacy, job placement, prevention services, and stable housing for homeless youth in Dallas, TX. The goal of case management is to reunite youth with their families and build healthy relationships.

NONPROFIT GROCERY STORE

Affordable, high quality food averaging 50% off of big box grocery store prices. This is a win-win scenario. Patrons save money on groceries while our programs are sustained without the help of government funding. 100% of the profit is used to support our charitable programs and services.

SOCIAL SERVICES & CASE MANAGEMENT

We are here to support underserved communities in times of need. We provide a wide range of programs including: Counseling, mortgage/rent assistance, utility assistance, free clothing/shoe closet, back-2-school clothing, shoes & school supplies for students, career services, and special holiday programs for children.

DOMESTIC DISASTER RELIEF

With so many disasters that occur across the U.S. our most vulnerable population is often left without the proper resources to recover quickly. We provide essential supplies to survivors. Many of our volunteer are in the field in advance coordinating with city partners, and pre-positioning supplies.

Want To Learn More About Our Services?

Helping people overcome obstacles is our passion. We are even more dedicated to providing professional social services to families & individuals in times of need than ever before.

What Do They Say About Us?

I lost my wife 2 years ago and my son suggested I come up here to volunteer. He figured it would be good for me because I was a military school teacher for 43 years. I enjoy mentoring the Smart Choices Texas children. It gives my day purpose and the children warm my heart and I like the people in charge. They’re good decent people.”

“My story is when I found out I was pregnant I was really really scared because I didn’t have anything. Mrs. McKinley told me I would have everything I needed and more if I just believed it was possible. She is the truth! I really do love her because she helped me to get my life back on track so I can be a better Mom. The baby crib is so big and beautiful. On top of that the boxes of diapers and wipes was a huge blessing to me and my family. From the bottom of my heart thank you thank you thank you.”

“Before shopping at this program buying enough food for the month on a fixed-income was almost impossible. Some days I feed a house full of my grand-babies and one of my sons stop by for lunch almost every day. It’s a lot of mouths to feed but I buy those food bundles because they’re are packed with good meats, fruit, and vegetables. It’s a big savings on my budget.”

I’m Sam 19yrs old in the beginning my home life was pretty toxic so yeah I left home. Mrs. XXXXXXXXX connected me to Smart Choices TX and everyone here is really awesome. They helped me with homework then actually paid me to work after school. After I graduated Ms. Brenda helped me to find a really great job at an animal hospital. Currently I’m studying to become a Veterinarian. So yeah the Sun is finally shining on my life lol and I would definitely recommend if any teenager is experiencing issues at home or at school to use your program for sure. Also thank you Mrs. McKinley, Ms. Brenda, Mr. Donald and all the other people who had anything to do with helping me. I really appreciate it and miss you guys.

Where there's a will.......