The Austin/Travis County Sustainable Food Policy Board would love for every resident to enjoy safe, nutritious locally, and sustainably-grown food – at a reasonable price, particularly for residents in need.

You can help SFBP achieve this vision and prioritize their efforts by participating in their upcoming Food Chat on Sunday, October 23. This is a great opportunity for you to share the hunger message with those who will help advise policymakers at the county and city level. Our own Senior Director of Advocacy and Public Policy, Kathy Golson, sits on the board.

When:
Sunday, October 23, 2011
1:30-2:30: Food Chat Activities
2:30-4:30: SFPB Meeting + opportunity for Citizen Communication

Where:
5604 Manor Road, Third Coast Activist Resource Center, Austin, TX 78723.
Free daycare provided.

Contact:
Erin Flynn, SFPB, 512-949-9831

Download a flyer in English or Spanish.

More About SFPB:
This advisory body to the City Council and Travis County Commissioners’ Court addresses the need to improve the availability of safe, nutritious, locally, and sustainably-grown food at reasonable prices for all residents, particularly those in need, by coordinating the relevant activities of city government, as well as non-profit organizations, and food and farming businesses. Meetings are held the fourth Monday of each month 12:30-2:30 at Austin City Hall. Public is encouraged to attend.

Guest blog post by Volusion

The Volusion “Like” for Food campaign was born of Volusion’s core value, “Rock the Golden Rule.” This dedication to community outreach dates back to 1999, when founder and chairman Kevin Sproles started, The Volusion Foundation. This foundation drives Volusion to give back to others via their time,product and revenue.

With Volusion located in Austin, partnering with the Capital Area Food Bank of Texas (CAFB) gives the company an opportuity to extend its philanthropic efforts to a worthy cause right in its own back yard.

“Like” for Food Campaign

The Volusion “Like” for Food campaign set a goal to get 500 new “likes” on Volusion’s Facebook page in a month, by challenging people to share the needs of the CAFB through their own Facebook profiles. Volusion employees were the first to jump on board, followed by people from around the world who helped spread the word. At the end of the campaign, Volusion donated $5,000 to the CAFB to help feed 12,500 hungry Central Texans.

After seeing the enormous amount of support for the cause, Volusion’s HR team decided to challenge the company even further. Throughout the month of August, Volusion will be hosting a canned food drive and taking a day to volunteer at the CAFB. Through the Volusion Foundation, every employee gets two days of paid time off to volunteer for deserving opportunities like this one. Other local outreach opportunities in which Volusion has participated include the March of Dimes March for Babies, Toys for Tots and Austin Christmas Bureau’s Adopt a Family.

“It’s great to see Volusion employees rally around a good cause,” said Clay Olivier, Volusion CEO. “The Volusion Foundation gives us all the opportunity to think beyond the walls of our office, and help those less fortunate in our own community and even around the world.”

It is an honor to work with an inspiring nonprofit like CAFB that greatly impacts the Austin community. Volusion looks forward to a continued partnership with the CAFB to help other Central Texans in need.

You can learn more about Volusion’s products and services at http://www.volusion.com.

Summer is our busiest time of the year. When school is out and the free and reduced-price lunch program is not available, families turn to us for hunger relief. During the 2009-2010 school year, more than 237,000 economically disadvantaged children in our service territory were eligible to receive free or reduced-price lunch. To meet the summer demand, we partnered with the federal Summer Food Service Program to provide free, nutritious meals for children. Last Friday, we held our kickoff event to celebrate and bring awareness to this program.

Chef David Bull, executive chef of Congress and Second Bar + Kitchen restaurants, took on the challenge to prepare a meal delicious enough to satisfy hungry children after a morning of play, and nutritious enough to satisfy the Texas Department of Agriculture’s standard for the Summer Food Service Program.  The catch: he can only spend up to $3 per child for the ingredients – the amount the Food Bank is reimbursed for each meal.

“As a father and chef, it is unacceptable that children go hungry in our country today,” says Chef Bull. “It’s hard for kids who go hungry to concentrate, develop and learn. This program steps in to feed children all summer long, and I’m excited the Food Bank offered me the opportunity to cook a tasty and nutritious lunch for them.”

Chef Bull Interview with YNN

The children at El Buen Samaritano arrived to a warmly lit room with linens and flowers on the table.  While the children enjoyed a fruit smoothie, Chef Bull demonstrated how he made today’s lunch and answered questions about being a chef.  A meat ball frittata with sausage, bell peppers, carrots and cheese with homemade ketchup and shoestring potatoes were served by CAFB President & CEO, Hank Perret and community leaders.

“Many children rely on school meals to keep them healthy and well-fed, and I hope that moving forward we can form more collaborations like this one to serve the children in the community that go without meals during the summer.  I applaud Capital Area Food Bank and El Buen Samaritano for continuing to feed our children through the summer months. These free meals help them continue to grow and develop so they will be ready for the start of school,” said Mayor pro-tem Mike Martinez, one of the aproned servers for the day.

From the looks of the cleaned plates and smiling faces all around, we declare this event a success.  Thank you the staff at El Buen Samaritano for hosting and to Chef Bull and his team designing this special menu. A special thank you goes to servers for helping us raise awareness about child hunger and nutrition.

Jose Alvarez – H-E-B
Tamala Barksdale – Board of Trustees, Austin Independent School District
Rob Borowski – Project Director of Health and Strength and Daily Food, Texas Impact
Nely Islas – Univision Radio – 104.3
Rachelle King – Austin Food Bloggers Alliance
Laurie Korn – Texas Association of School Boards
Mike Martinez – Mayor pro-tem, City of Austin
Leslie Montoya – Univision TV
Angela Olige – Assistant Commissioner for Food and Nutrition, Texas Department of Agriculture
Richard Paez – Austin Police Department
Ernesto Pedraza – Austin Police Department

View more photos from this event.

About the Summer Food Service Program

The Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) is a federally funded program that provides free meals to children ages 18 and under during the summer, when National School Lunch and School Breakfast Program meals are not available. SFSP ensures children have the nutrition they need so that they are ready learn when school starts in the fall. Monday through Friday, children age 18 and under are welcome to enjoy nutritious lunches at any of CAFB’s Summer Food Service Program sites. No registration or identification is needed. The program starts on June 6 and runs until August 12.For CAFB site addresses, lunch times and more information,  visit www.austinfoodbank.org/sfsp/. For other sites visit www.summerfood.org.

Photo Credit:  Darcy Elizabeth Photography

Today, we wrap up our month-long project with Austin Food Bloggers Alliance members. Inspired by the $16 minimum SNAP benefit, they were challenged to come up with tasty, nutritious recipes for our CHOICES Nutrition Education program.

Recent additions to our recipe list include healthy baked chicken tenders and sweet potato fries from Zesty Bean Dog, beet pancakes from Austin Farm to Table, healthy snacks from The Seasonal Plate, healthy cake balls from The Smart Kitchen, homemade pizza from Shoestring Austin, banana pops from The Kid Can Cook, southwestern succotash from Ditch the Box, and a tomato, avocado and feta with bacon salad from the Lonely Gourmet.

Zesty Bean Dog - Chicken Tenders with Sweet Potato Fries

The Seasonal Plate - Carrot Slaw

The Smart Kitchen - Cake Balls

Shoestring Austin - Homemade Pizza

The Kid Can Cook - Banana Pops

Ditch the Box - Southwestern Succotash

The underlying theme for the majority of the blog entries was to go beyond nutrition, and share recipes of great-tasting food.  This isn’t surprising or unique to the foodie community. Ellyn Satter’s hierarchy of food needs which applies Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs to food management, shows that after individuals address adequacy, reliability, and safety; taste is of greatest importance – not nutritional density, or the need for a balanced diet.

In the food banking world, we encounter and support families and individuals with a variety of needs.  Some individuals are literally without a crumb or dollar in their pocket, while many others, new to living on the edge, are learning to cope on a leaner budget in tough economic times. This project is a great example of  “joining with individuals right where they are” which can help the Food Bank better help families as they move up the pyramid and address their basic needs.

It would be a gross misrepresentation of the impact of this project if we only reported on the number of recipes or blog posts generated through the project. Just as important, are the countless Facebook comments, tweets and discussions beyond the computer screen about the hunger crisis in Central Texas.  The true measure of this project’s success is not just about what we can measure, but the leadership, passion and deepened relationships through this project. This is priceless and integral in moving us closer to a hunger-free community.

Thank you, Austin Food Bloggers Alliance, for mobilizing the community to help end hunger by donating  64 recipes, 46 blog posts, raising hundreds of dollars for the Food Bank and much more.  Click here to read all of the recipes.

Participating bloggers: Jen Andrew – Zesty Bean Dog,  Mandy Begley – Home with Mandy, Addie Broyles – Austin American-Statesman – Relish Austin, Suzanna Cole – South Austin Foodie, Rachel Daneman – Dinner With Daneman, Julie K H – Kitschn Calamities, Kathryn Hutchison The Austin Gastronomist, Ren LeVally – Edible Aria, Laurie Leiker – LonelyGourmet, Somer Maxwell – The Seasonal Plate, Megan Meyers - Stetted (fundraising), Linda Nyugen – Girl Eats World, Mary Helen Orama – Mary Makes Dinner, Sarah Pember – The Smart Kitchen, Nelly Ramirez – Salt, Laura Roberts – Shoestring Austin, Michelle Savage-Mena – Austin Post – The Savage Gourmet, Emme Weaver – The Kid Can Cook, Kristi Willis – Austin Farm to Table, Kristi Willis – Ditch the Box, Kristina Wolter -  Girl Gone Grits,

Over the past month, Austin Food Bloggers Alliance members shared some amazing recipes inspired by the $16 minimum SNAP (food stamp) allowance for individuals. Here’s a roundup of the posts so far (photos link to the blog post):   Suzanna, from South Austin Foodie, made this amazing beet slaw.  Since it’s mayo-free, it’s great for picnics and will keep in the fridge for several days.

She also earned her advocacy stripes by encouraging her readers to contact our US Senators and ask them to stop cutting SNAP benefits. Thank you for advocating on behalf of those in need!   Newcomer, Kathryn, from Austin Gastronomist, is writing a three-part series with the first post highlighting healthy, easy snacks for children.  Check out her six yummy recipes including confetti deviled eggs.

Kristi Willis reports this time from her other food blog, Ditch the Box. Here, she looks to fresh seasonal vegetables and her nine-year-old nephew for inspiration to her beautiful and colorful tuna wrap with carrot salad.

Laurie, from The Lonely Gourmet, racks up her fourth blog post by sharing a way to stretch $16 to provide a week’s worth of lunches and dinners for a small family. Who knew one chicken could stretch so far!  See how she did it. For Mandy at Mandy Makes Dinner, the project brought back strong memories of her childhood and growing up in a low-income family.  Her creativity and compassion for children at risk of hunger shows in her recipes such as “Pirates of the Bannana Boat.”

Holidays can be a stressful time for families on a budget.  Emme, from The Kid Can Cook shares a festive Cinco De Mayo black bean and avocado salad - a perfect side dish for a family and friends gathering.

Mary at Mary Makes Dinner asks her Mainer mom for advice on the best ways to stock a pantry and stretch a budget.  Check out her blog for her favorite place to get low-cost foods in Austin as well as other great tips. Kristi, at Girl Gone Grits, turns to comfort food for her recipe inspiration.  Instead of the usual “cream of something” in a casserole she whips up a saucy and healthy taco filling with a cornbread topping. Yum!

A special thank you goes to those who shared information about our Stamp Out Hunger food drive through their blog and  social media. For more recipes and a full list of participants, check out our Austin Food Bloggers Hunger Awareness Project website.

Austin isn’t called The Live Music Capital of the World for nothing! The Capital Area Food Bank has teamed up with musicians from Central Texas and beyond dedicated to ending hunger in Central Texas.  Here’s a peek at some recent rockers that helped us fight hunger (and one that’s currently on tour):

Austin JavaScript SXSW Party

Not your typical SXSW party, this event brought festival goers together for food, fun and philanthropy. The event debuted new technologies in the interactive field while at the same time raised awareness about hunger in Central Texas. Entry into this fun event held at Kung Fu Saloon was a donation of a healthy non-perishable food item and raised more than 600 meals for hungry Central Texans.

AWOLNation

This indie-rock band from California showed some big Texas love for their Austin fans by performing a free show at La Zona Rosa. Austinites were treated to a free concert and helped support hungry Central Texans with their $5 donation or healthy non-perishable food item collected at the door for the Capital Area Food Bank of Texas. Through your efforts, more than 800 pounds of food and almost $900 were collected. Five lucky participants even won autographed CDs from these rockers!

Rise Against!

It’s not every day that musicians take time out of a busy tour to come volunteer in CAFB’s Product Recovery, but the guys from Rise Against! did just that.  Before their show at Stubbs, they came down to the Food Bank, sorted food donations, and told us why they think hunger is unacceptable.

Bob Schneider “Food for Frunk”

This Austin-based musician and artist is putting his talents to work and helping nourish hungry people at the same time. On his summer tour, he will be collecting non-perishable food donations and providing his “Frunk” for food, so make sure you check out his next show. The tour recently kicked off at the legendary Nutty Brown Café and Bob brings it home for an American sized celebration at the Nutty Brown Café on July 4^th. To catch a show or find out more, visit: http://bobschneider.com/.

If you’re interested in hosting an event, volunteering, advocating on our behalf, or you’re a musician who wants to Rock for Hunger, visit: http://www.austinfoodbank.org/how-to-help/raise-funds.html.

Austin Food Bloggers Alliance members began sharing their recipes, stories and spreading the word about hunger in Central Texas. Here’s a roundup of the posts so far (photos link to the blog post):

Addie of Austin American Statesman’s, Relish Austin on Austin360.com, puts herbs and spices to work in a modern twist on the classic American comfort food, franks and beans.

Kristina says cookies can be for breakfast and be healthy, too. At Girl Gone Grits, she whips up a beautiful low-cost healthy meal that will keep children satisfied through lunch—Banana Oatmeal Breakfast Shake, Cinnamon Orange Yogurt, and Breakfast Cookies.

Returning blogger and long-time CAFB Ambassador, Kristi Willis of Austin Farm to Table, shared a recipe for Ricotta Stuffed Zucchini, a perfect dish for early spring.

Laurie at LonelyGourmet knows what it’s like to succumb to the stigma of food stamps. She shares her story and some startling facts about hunger in Central Texas.

Rachel at Dinner With Daneman features a wonderful mix of pico de gallo with fresh fruit.  Is it a salad or salsa?  Whatever you decide, you’ll agree it’s a fresh and delicious way to perk up a meal.

Jen at Zesty Bean Dog whips up a protein-packed mini meal with tuna and yogurt as the star.

Take a South Austin Foodie adventure with Suzanna as she shares her tips for a great and low-cost polenta with tomatoes, meat and greens.

At Kitschn Calamities, Julie takes a whole wheat pasta recipe and stretches and transforms it into a frittata, providing a healthy dinner for two nights and two lunches.

A great recipe for the novice cook, Linda at Girl Eats World takes care to showcase a recipe where most of the ingredients could be found at one of CAFB’s Partner Agencies.

Vegetarian chef, Nelly at Salt preps her audience for fideos and lentejas mexicanas recipes.  Can’t wait!

Ready for a ramen revamp? Check out Laura at  Shoestring Austin for some tasty ramen hacks.

Ren at Edible Aria, known for low-cost recipes featuring sustainable whole foods, brings a great vegetarian recipe for “Meatless Monday” lovers – a Quinoa burger.

Sara at The Smart Kitchen looks to cold pizza Lunchables as inspiration for kid-friendly healthy and fun snacks.  There are more great ideas, but you’ll have to read the blog to find them.

Last, but certainly not least, Emme from The Kid Can Cook focused her first blog post on  informing her readers about hunger in Central Texas and raising funds for the Food Bank.  Each comment left on the post generated a $1 donation. Thanks, Emme!

It isn’t over, yet. Be sure to check out our Austin Food Bloggers Project web page for the latest culinary creations.

Austin Food Bloggers Alliance members visited the Food Bank yesterday to launch their first philanthropy event.  This event was inspired by last year’s Austin Food Bloggers challenge where participants were asked to create recipes from food distributed at a food pantry.  For this year’s Anniversary project, bloggers are creating awareness about the SNAP program and creating recipes inspired by the minimum SNAP benefit of $16 per month. The month-long project begins April 30.

“Our challenge is to bring more awareness to our local food bank – particularly the SNAP program – by creating some nutritious recipes that Angela [CAFB’s Nutrition Education Manager] and her team could incorporate into the local classes. Each of our stories will be different due to our own life experiences and perspectives, just as the stories are of each individual or family supported by CAFB. The face of hunger knows no bounds.” said Kristina Wolter, Austin Food Bloggers Alliance Philanthropy Chair.

Nutrition Education Manager, Angela Henry, explains CAFB’s curriculum offerings and nutrition education outreach to SNAP-eligible clients. Credit: Kristina Nichols-Wolter

Lisa Goddard, Online Marketing Director shares the Food Bank’s history and services before starting a tour of CAFB’s facilities. Credit: Kristina Nichols-Wolter

Austin Food Blogger Alliance members learn about SNAP, formerly known as food stamps. Credit: Kristina Nichols-Wolter

At the kickoff, participants enjoyed a CAFB CHOICES Nutrition Class favorite recipe prepared by Angela; a mango and black bean salad. Credit: Kristina Nichols-Wolter

Alex Cruz one of CAFB’s SNAP Outreach Coordinators explains the barriers many Central Texans experience while applying for SNAP benefits. Credit: Kristina Nichols-Wolter

Interested in participating in the challenge?

Email info@austinfoodbloggers.org, to learn about becoming a member of the Austin Food Bloggers Alliance, or  fill out an application.

The 21st annual Friends Feeding Friends Food Drive sponsored by the Temple-Belton Board of Realtors was a success! More than 21,000 pounds of food and more than $1,000 in donations was collected in Temple, Belton and Salado to help feed our hungry neighbors in North Central Texas.

The following Partner Agencies will directly benefit from the generosity of our North Central Texas neighbors: Churches Touching Lives for Christ, Love of Christ, Open Arms UMC, Salvation Army, St. Vincent de Paul, Taylors Valley Baptist Church, Helping Hands Ministries, Christ the King Catholic Church and First Baptist Church Salado.

Thank you, to our partners: Temple Independent School District, Belton Independent School District, Salado Independent School District, Central Texas Christian School, Central Texas Now KCEN-HD, PacTiv, Walmart, and Brookshire Brothers for uniting our community to help end hunger.

About half of the 591 billion pounds of food produced in America each year is wasted.  Meanwhile, more than 50 million Americans are at risk of hunger.  That might mean going to bed hungry or having to make the choice to either buy food or keep the power on.  Being food insecure is painful, physically, mentally and emotionally.

The Capital Area Food Bank confronts the disparity between hunger and food waste in our community by organizing food pickups from local H-E-Bs, Walmarts, and other grocery stores.  Central Texas Food Rescue coordinator Jessie Curran explains, “Food Banks were founded on the model of matching excess food with hunger relief charities.  Most people understand that the problem of hunger in the US is not due to a shortage of food, but rather people in need not having access to it.  CAFB’s mission in running a Food Rescue program is to provide businesses with a way to reduce waste by donating unsalable, but edible food to the Food Bank.  This is a win-win for everyone; stores reduce their waste costs and increase their employee morale, and much needed food is distributed to people who need it.”

Bryan Bickham of Springfield Farm with CAFB Central Texas Food Rescue Coordinator, Jessie Curran

The program’s newest initiative, Market Harvest, picks up the unsold produce from farmers markets. Although farmers are vigilant about composting their unsold product, they are eager to participate in a program that connects their food to those in need.  The project is being piloted at the Sustainable Food Center’s farmers market at the Triangle on Wednesday evenings.  Participating farmers fill boxes with leftover kale, arugula, peppers, eggplant, tomatoes, persimmons, and more which is then transported to a Food Bank Partner Agency (specifically soup kitchens) to be prepared the following morning.

SFC Farmers' Market

VISTA volunteer Catherine McKinney who builds capacity for CAFB programs Healthy Options for the Elderly (HOPE) and Kids Cafe comments, “People are always asking for fresh produce. In particular, our older adult clients are thrilled when they have the chance to cook fresh produce.”

According to a 2009 study by the Center for Disease Control, only 17 percent of low-income Texans consumed the recommended daily minimum of five or more servings of fruits and vegetables. This consumption is lower than any other income bracket. No wonder that data also shows a higher prevalence of chronic disease such as diabetes and poorer overall health in low-income Texans compared to those in higher income brackets.

Market Harvest participant Bryan Bickham and owner of Springfield Farm says, “We are so happy to give to people who care about people.  The last thing we like to see is food going to waste.”

The Capital Area Food Bank sincerely thanks the Sustainable Food Center and the following local farmers for their partnership in helping nourish our neighbors in need:

Engel Farms

Harvest Time Farm Stand

Lightsey Farms

Milagro Farms

Ottmer’s Family Farm

Springfield Farm

Johnson’s Backyard Garden

Hillside Farms

If you are interested in being a Market Harvest volunteer please email Volunteer Resources Coordinator, Amelia Long, at amelialong@austinfoodbank.org or call 512-684-2551. Click here to view a description of this volunteer position.