From the Target Meals for Minds Program to their annual ‘Day of Giving’, Target employees have been rolling up their red sleeves to volunteer, fund programs, and act as a collaborative partner in the fight against hunger.

On Wednesday, we hosted 85 Target employees at our headquarters for their  ‘Day of Giving’ . Volunteers were busy inspecting and sorting frozen meats and other donated goods in our Product Recovery area, donating 250 hours of service.  Approximately 14,700 pounds of food was sorted. It was like getting more than six full-time employees for free for a week, but all jammed into a few hours of volunteer time.  Thank you, Target for your generous donation of service! View photos.

As a partner with Feeding America, the Meals for Minds Program provides select food banks across the nation with an opportunity to extend pantry services to children and their families in a school setting.  This innovative approach to reaching children attending schools in low-income communities has been very successful at our three host sites in Central Texas.   In addition to providing funding support, Target employees have been hands-on at each event. They volunteer to assist clients in choosing foods from the mobile pantry, serve meals, and contribute to the celebratory nature of each gathering.

For CAFB, the partnership leverages the  “Wheels of Sharing” Mobile Food Pantry and allows us to partner with schools like never before. More importantly, the families enjoy the program which helps remove the negative stigma usually associated with receiving food assistance.

Thank you, Target for making hunger relief easier and efficient for us, and a pleasure for our clients.  We couldn’t do it without your continued support.

Related Stories:

CAFB and Target Meals for Minds Program Preps Parents and Students for STARR Standardized Tests

CAFB and Target Meals for Minds Program brings families together for meals, learning and lots of fun.

Target gives nationally, and acts locally.

Related Videos:

Target ‘Day of Giving’ 2011

Target ‘Day of Giving’ 2010

CAFB President & CEO Hank Perret (left) with Tyson Foods Representative, John H. Cottrill, Jr.

During April,  Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and Pinterest hunger fighters shared a special message about hunger in Central Texas.  What made it special, was that it did more than help raise awareness about the hunger crisis in our area;  it also triggered a 100 pound donation of food for every share.  Today 37,000 pounds of protein, one of the most expensive items for us purchase, and  rare for us to receive as a donation, was delivered to our Food Bank thanks to your efforts.  We weren’t the only Food Bank to benefit.  Through the Share your KNOWledge campaign, eight of our sister food banks also received food.

With the nation’s hunger relief programs under attack in both the Farm Bill and Congressional budgets, food banks across the country are simultaneously fighting back to ensure these programs are available to families in need, and preparing for the surge in clientele during the our busiest time of the year.  A truckload of chicken, and a heaping serving of hunger awareness will help in our preparation for a long and brutal summer.  Thank you, social media-savvy hunger fighters and Tyson Foods for lending a helping hand.

by Ashli McKee

When my husband and I were planning our March 2012 wedding, we knew we wanted to incorporate things we were passionate about into the activities leading up to the event. Nearly all of our guests were coming in from out of town, and we wanted to show them our city and give our families time to hang out. It’s important to us as a couple to give back through philanthropy and volunteerism, so we decided to mobilize our friends and family for a group service project during our wedding weekend.

We thought this would be a great way to spread the love we were feeling and to show appreciation for the blessings we were celebrating. Without a project like this, we couldn’t see having this party and feast when there are so many hungry people out there in need.

We chose to volunteer with Capital Area Food Bank because it is a local organization with a reputation for good work with high impact. Helping to alleviate hunger was a basic need we felt all our friends and family could get behind, and when we spread the word they were excited to jump in.

The experience at the food bank was so great for us and our fellow volunteers. The staff was fun and knowledgeable, and was able to quickly put our team to work. Empowering a big group of people without prior training to do a useful task is not something every organization can pull off, but CAFB did so with ease. Some of our team volunteered for special tasks but most of us sorted and inspected frozen foods. It was a meaningful and productive activity that we could all bond over, and we truly enjoyed ourselves. At the end of our volunteer shift, the CAFB staff member was able to provide statistics on the amount of food we sorted and exactly how many meals would be provided as a result of our work. Knowing the quantifiable impact of our project really brought home the difference that can be made by a group of people in just a few hours time.

I’d highly recommend signing your group of friends, co-workers, neighbors or however you might be assembling to take on a volunteer shift with Capital Area Food Bank. We’ll look back fondly on this part of our wedding weekend for the rest of our lives.

For more information on volunteering, visit www.austinfoodbank.org/volunteer/

One of 242,000 eggs donated to the Capital Area Food Bank

Egg producers are gearing up for one of their busiest times of the year.  Last year alone, nearly 200 million eggs were purchased for Easter celebrations in the U.S. according to the American Egg Board.  Thanks to the United Egg Producers and Texas-based Cal-Maine Foods Inc.,  eggs will be on the menu for hungry Central Texans.

Yesterday, a shipment of more than 242,000 eggs were delivered to the Capital Area Food Bank as part of a nationwide effort by America’s egg farmers to help needy families.  The donation program is in its fifth year and has donated nearly five million dozen eggs to food banks and charities.

“This generous contribution comes at a critical point in time, and will be a tremendous help in feeding the hungry,” said Hank Perret, president & CEO of the Capital Area Food Bank. “Eggs are a marvelous source of protein and essential vitamins, and we cannot thank the United Egg Producers enough for their timely donation and commitment to bettering the lives of our hungry neighbors.”

You can learn more about how egg farmers are helping to end hunger by visiting GoodEggProject.org

This week, Food Bank staff and community members gathered for an intimate evening of celebration to honor organizations and individuals helping us fulfill our mission.

Lottie McCorkle, sixth from the left - LA Care

Lakes Area care, Inc. (LACare)
Lottie McCorkle, Director
Burnet, TX

Since 1987 when LACare joined the Food Bank family as a Partner Agency, Lottie and her dedicated team of volunteers have been providing emergency food for families in the Burnet area.  Lottie believes that their duties, in addition to providing food, nutrition classes, voter registration assistance, hygiene kits and emergency food vouchers for prescription medications  includes “making everyone feel special – because they are.”

Dr. Geraldine Tucker, far right - The Town Lake Chapter of the Links, Inc.

The Town Lake Chapter of the Links, Inc.
Dr. Geraldine Tucker, President
Austin, TX

The Links Inc.  is one of the oldest and largest volunteer service organizations of women who are committed to enriching, sustaining and ensuring the culture and economic survival of African Americans and other persons of African ancestry.  The Town Lake Chapter of the Links has loyally supported the Food Bank’s Kids Cafe program at Campbell and Norman Elementary schools since 2003 and has donated nearly $100,000 to sustain the programs at the schools.  Members are actively engaged in the schools’ afterschool programs as volunteers, enriching and deepening their impact as donors.

Kurt Dyer, center

Kurt Dyer
Volunteer, CAFB’s St. John Community Food Center
Austin, TX

As an outstanding Volunteer Leader for the Capital Area Food Bank, Kurt has donated more than 177 hours of his time at the pantry and helps train new volunteers.  Thanks to his reliable, caring service and leadership, the St. John Community Food Center serves more than 250 families each week.

Mike Harris, center

Mike Harris, General  Manager, and Michelle Villarreal, Merchandise Coordinator
Walmart Distribution Center #6038
Temple, TX

In support of the Walmart Foundation’s $2 billion Fighting Hunger Initiative, Mike and Michelle coordinate donations from the Temple distribution center.  This past year, more than 1,010,250 pounds of food was donated to CAFB, 93% of which was high-demand nutritious produce. Mike believes that the partnership enables Walmart to help “people live better – every one of us needs help in some way throughout our lives.”

Thank you for your outstanding support and for helping to end hunger in your community.   A special thank you also goes to Rob Cunningham, Community Relations Director at FOX 7 KTBC Austin for emceeing the event.

Applied Materials 2011 Food Drive

How do you transform workplace giving from a one-time activity to a season-long effort without burning out employees?

Just ask Applied Materials. Right before the fall holiday season, Applied Materials unveils laundry list of activities to engage employees in the fight against hunger. Events over the years include Can-struction competitions, solar car races, ice cream socials, fishing tournaments and chili cook offs.

“Applied Materials has been working with the Food Bank since we opened our site in Austin in the early 1990s,” said Rick Gesing, Austin site manager and corporate vice president, Semiconductor Manufacturing and Environmental Health & Safety at Applied Materials, Inc. “Over the years, the food drive has become a rallying event for our employees to give back to the community. Because of our employees’ remarkable generosity and creative fundraising skills we have been able to make a sustained, impactful contribution to helping feed hungry families in Central Texas.”

Fundraising doesn’t just rest on the shoulders of employees and contractors. Through the Applied Materials Foundation, employees’ and contractors’ donations are matched dollar-for-dollar.

Through their tremendous efforts this past year, $142,000 – enough to purchase $712,000 worth of nutritious food – was donated to the Capital Area Food Bank. Thank you, Applied Materials, for your continued commitment to uplifting the hungry in your community.

Related stories:

Applied Materials: Transforming Central Texas Through Hunger Relief.

Applied Materials’ Solar Car Smackdown puts the green in their holiday giving.

SouperStructures 2008

The last of the donations from Souper Bowl of Caring trickled in this past week. Your support means we can provide more than 1.1 million more meals to hungry Central Texans. With 250 tons of donations still left in our warehouse just waiting to be sorted and inspected, we still could use your help. We especially need volunteers during the week. Click here to sign up.

We also wanted to share what your generosity has done to our warehouse. Professional photographer, Jeff Campbell stopped by to help us document this amazing display of generosity.

Give your body and soul one of the best workouts in town by volunteering with us today.

Iris demonstrates the "Banana Box Lunge" targeting the glutes, hips and thighs.

Thanks to the thousands of Central Texans who donated food through Souper Bowl of Caring these past few weeks, we have more than 835,000 pounds of food at our headquarters. We’ve actually run out of room in our 60,000 square foot warehouse so we’re storing extra food in five trailers in the parking lot.

If you’re looking to mix up your exercise activities, or if exercising outdoors has you sneezing and freezing, keep the Food Bank in mind. When you volunteer at the Food Bank in product recovery sorting and inspecting food, you’ll get more than a warm feeling in your heart; you’ll get your heart pumping too. Each banana box filled with food weighs approximately 35 pounds. And, our improvised medicine ball of volunteer nametags collected over the past six months weighs nine pounds. The lunging, pallet-jacking, and lifting you’ll do during the three-hour shift will give you a great full-body work out from your delts to your hamstrings.

Volunteers are most needed Monday through Wednesday. Shifts are 9 a.m. to noon and 1 to 4 p.m. Register online.

Help us get 400 tons of food out the door because hunger can’t wait.

We have several spring internships available at CAFB.  Internships are excellent opportunities to learn new skills, explore your passions, and collaborate and network with professionals.  But don’t just take our word for it.  Kanaka Sathasivan just finished her internship with us and wanted to share her experience with you.

by Kanaka Sathasivan

I have always been a storyteller, from the day I first learned how to type on an old black and yellow DOS computer. All through my years of grade school, college and beyond, I spent my spare time typing up worlds of fiction — when I wasn’t devouring stacks of novels, that is. As many a writer has said before, stories are magical portals that let you leave your life and worries behind. But for all their entertainment value, it is easy to forget that stories do not only serve as an escape from the real world. Stories capture human emotions, triumph and adversity. And because of this, stories may just be the realest thing we can be confronted with.

The day I started my internship at the Food Bank, my first assignment was to edit a video interview conducted after Bastrop was devastated by wildfires. It was a straightforward clip, shot on a pocket-sized Flip camera. I was assigned to a fancy computer and had about 24 hours to learn how to use Adobe Premiere and produce the video. Those first two days were exciting and challenging as I tried to edit the material to tell the story of a family that lost everything but each other. The result was this video, the first of many stories I had the chance to tell.

Each week, I traveled to food distributions across Central Texas, met dozens of new employees, volunteers and clients, and collected their stories. For many clients, opening up to an outsider was difficult. As much as people love to share their stories, stories of loss and hardship can be painful to tell. And as much as I enjoy talking and socializing with new people, it was often daunting to approach a client as they waited in line — sometimes for hours — in order to get the food they needed to feed their children.

In my short time at the Food Bank, I have been fortunate to meet people from all backgrounds and walks of life. Young parents who could have been my neighbors. Elderly couples who just can’t make ends meet. Food bank volunteers who were once clients or clients who once volunteered. Especially now, when the average American way of life seems to be vanishing, these encounters were reminders to appreciate what I had and to give back to the community what I could.

Having worked as a freelancer for small companies most of my life, entering the non-profit world at a large organization was a surprising and interesting change. I was fortunate to be able to work with passionate people from several departments and gain an appreciation for how they all work together to implement the many programs the Food Bank offers. Every project I worked on was a new learning experience, and it was especially gratifying to see the impact made by my work and to meet all the clients who are helped by the Food Bank. I enjoyed every second of my internship, and I can only envy the next person who gets to work at this amazing organization!

Here’s more of her amazing work:

Thank you, Kanaka and best wishes to you on your next project.

Narissa Johnson

by Narissa Johnson, CAFB Volunteer

The Capital Area Food Bank (CAFB) has a remarkable mission. In order to feed hungry people and be a leader in our community in ending hunger, CAFB receives, sorts, and distributes more than 24 million pounds of food every year to other non-profit groups that directly serve public needs.  Organizations such as El Buen Samaritano and neighborhood centers receive food from CAFB and provide it to those who are “food insecure”, people who otherwise do not know where they will get their next meal. In order to accomplish this, there is a sophisticated operation that depends on strong volunteer participation from the community.

I spent the morning of MLK National Day of Service with a group of about 30 volunteers who sorted and packed H-E-B Souper Bowl of Caring donations —bags filled with canned goods shoppers purchased for $5. Our motivated group of volunteers sorted through 16,800 pounds of food in three hours, which passes quickly.  But this is only 24% of the almost 70,000 pounds of food CAFB will distribute on an average day. I had trouble wrapping my head around how much 70,000 pounds was… it is about the same weight as a Boeing 737, or a Southwest Airlines plane!

I have worked at two CAFB partner non-profit organizations that distributed food directly to those in need. I have met the people who bring boxes and bags to accept the food with mixed feelings of relief, embarrassment, hesitation, and gratitude. I am glad to have seen and participated directly with CAFB operations; I have enormous respect for the massive scale of the work they do in the community. I have been lucky enough see the impact CAFB has on the community… but to truly appreciate the organization, I needed to see how much they do for the community before they ever distribute one pound of food. I encourage you to get your officemates, kickball team, or family to volunteer at CAFB for a rewarding experience that truly impacts the lives of Central Texas families.