For the first time in Texas, individuals receiving SNAP (food stamps) or Women, Infant, and Children (WIC) EBT fruit and vegetable benefits will be able to double the dollar amount that they can spend on fruits and vegetables at a farmers’ market. Eligible shoppers will be matched dollar for dollar up to $10 each week, totaling $20 to purchase fruits and vegetables. If an individual receives both SNAP and WIC EBT fruit and vegetable benefits they can receive up to $10 in “Double Dollars” per program, per week.

The program is called the Double Dollar Incentive Program (DDIP) and is made possible by funding and support from the Sustainable Food Center (SFC), St. David’s Foundation, Wholesome Wave Foundation and Farm Aid, United States Agriculture Department (USDA) Farmers Market Promotion Program, Texas Department of Agriculture Specialty Crops Grant, and the YMCA East Communities Branch of YMCA of Austin.

“This farmers’ market will help fill the long-identified gap in northeast Austin where there are no farmers’ markets,” said SFC executive director Ronda Rutledge. “This particular market – and only this market – will include incentives of matching dollars to be given to shoppers who use their SNAP and WIC fruits and vegetable benefits for purchases weekly.”

It’s easier than you think to use your EBT card at the farmers market. Former AmeriCORPS VISTA Amelia demonstrates how she was able to easily and quickly use her card at the market.

DDIP is just one of the ways SFC is attracting Austin residents to their new year-long farmers’ market at the YMCA East. In addition to shopping at the vendors featured at SFC’s three other markets in Austin, this market also includes bilingual staff on site, a tasting tent, cooking demos, shaded picnic area, playground and free parking.

The need for healthy affordable foods in East Austin is well documented. The recently released Central Texas Foodshed Assessment reports that East Austin residents desire access to healthy quality foods, but it is too often out of reach. In the 11 East Austin zip codes that were part of the study area, five lack full-service grocery stores with the nearest grocery store being three to 15 miles away. Two of the zip codes in the study can be considered food deserts. East Austin also has higher concentrations of low-income and minority populations; the same populations most vulnerable to hunger.

The perceived high cost of healthy foods, especially fruits and vegetables “reduces the diversity of one’s diet and contributes to decision making that is counter to one’s values: choosing satiating over salutary foods even though a healthy diet is of importance…” according to the findings in the study.

This new market featuring DDIP is a positive step towards aligning the values of residents at risk of hunger with access to the healthy foods they desire.

SFC Farmers’ Market East
Tuesdays, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
At the YMCA East
5315 Ed Bluestein
Visit the website.

Grand opening and celebration: Tuesday, March 20

Today, the U.S. Department of Agriculture released their annual study on food access and adequacy, food spending, and sources of food assistance for the U.S. population.

Nearly one in five Texans are at risk of hunger, the second highest rate in the nation.

For the past four years, the percentage of food insecure individuals in Texas has been on a steady growth and Texas has been consistently above the national average.

Food insecurity, or people at risk of hunger, can be defined as the inability to obtain adequate, healthy, affordable food in socially acceptable ways. Food insecurity may occur because families cannot reach food, lack access to stores selling affordable food, and in the case of natural disasters such as the wildfires. Obesity, diet-related diseases, absenteeism from work and school, and mental health issues are at greater risk in individuals suffering with food insecurity.

For the first time, a joint release by the Texas Food Bank Network and Baylor University’s Texas Hunger Initiative measures and describes in detail the pervasive hunger problem at the county level. The report also provides a blueprint on how to end hunger in Texas through specific actions at the grassroots level that will broaden access to resources and engage in policy change. This “blueprint to end hunger” incorporates the newest national data on hunger made available by Feeding America, along with U.S. Census data and statewide data on usage of federal and state programs. Download the full report (74MB).

Hunger and food insecurity is a preventable and solvable public health issue. Join us in the fight to end hunger by taking part in Hunger Action Month activities.

“I have three little ones and it’s the end of the month for food stamps, so food gets low at this time,” says Melinda of Goldthwaite, Texas. Melinda and her children wait in line at CAFB’s “Wheels of Sharing” Mobile Food Pantry distribution in Goldthwaite.

Melinda has her hands full as a full-time mom to her 9-month-old, 4-year-old and 6-year-old children. To make ends meet, Melinda’s husband in construction. “It’s kind of slow, when it rains he doesn’t work; I think he got a $60 paycheck last week,” she said.

As Melinda picks her selection of fresh produce and pantry staples at the Mobile Food Pantry, she shares her experience: “The selection here is really great. I haven’t really gotten anything I don’t like. When you don’t have nothing, you’re happy with what you get.”

Melinda moved from her hometown of Mullin six years ago, to Goldthwaite, a small city with population of 1,878. The nearest low-cost supermarket is in Brownwood, a 34-mile drive out of town.  “I have to get my groceries here in town, but they’re more expensive than at Walmart, but I can’t afford the gas to go out of town,” she said.

Her family has plans in place for a better financial future. Her husband is studying full-time to become a nurse. “My husband starts his clinicals next year,” says Melinda.  “He’s going to school full-time and he works all day in the sun. He’s worn out. It wouldn’t be worth me working [because] I wouldn’t even make enough to pay for child care. We try to make do with what we have.”

Now that school is out, Melinda worries about feeding the children in her care.  The nearest Summer Food Service Program site where children can access free meals during the summer is also in Brownwood – a drive that Melinda says is too expensive for her to make on a daily basis.

“It’s going to be a lot harder in the summer because I take care of my niece and nephew also. My sister-in-law is a single mom and she’s pregnant again, so I don’t ask for money, but I will have to feed all the kids. It’s three extra kids this summer because my daughter will be home from school, too. It’s just tough,” she says.

Credit: Cece Wood

In the final part of our series on rising gas and food prices, we focus on the numbers and putting them into perspective.

USDA reports that the soar in price for food and energy doesn’t hit American consumers as hard as our neighbors overseas.  Let’s take a closer look at food. American spends only about seven percent of their household budget on food at home.

In comparison to the rest of the world, we spend much less on food as a percentage of total household spending.

However, when we look at food and energy spending as a percentage of income by income distribution, a different story emerges.

Lower income families spend a higher percentage of their income on food in comparison to families with higher incomes. In the graphic below, the red bar represents expenditures, and the blue bar represents expenditures of after-tax income.

A similar story emerges for energy expenditures.

An average American household spending 17 percent of after-tax income on food and energy is very different than the 44 percent the poorest of our neighbors are spending.

For many of our clients, the decision to purchase more fresh produce, local meats, or even organic foods can have a huge or even devastating impact on the family budget.

Your support helps CAFB rescue protein items with the help of our local grocery partners, advocate for legislation to improve SNAP access to eligible clients, expand our Fresh Food for Families program and much more.

Learn more about how we help improve the nutrition of hungry Central Texans and stay in touch through our email communications.

Read part 1

Read part 2

In today’s Texas Tribune, there’s an article about a study that ranks Texas’ health by county.  Williamson County, which is part of CAFB’s service territory, is listed as the healthiest county in Texas.  We thought it would be interesting to look at our county map on Hunger Is UNacceptable to see how food insecurity compares to the health outcomes ranking.

Click here for a larger version of the image.

Although the food insecurity data is from 2008, and the methodologies are different, it’s interesting to see that the healthiest counties have relatively low food insecurity and the counties with high food insecurity have poor health ratings.  We also know from other studies the link between health – especially obesity – and hunger.

What do you think?

Food hardship is the inability to buy enough food for the household because of lack of money. Unlike the USDA’s food insecurity data, food hardship is defined as answering “yes” to the question: “Have there been times in the past twelve months when you did not have enough money to buy food that you or your family needed?” According to the Food and Research Action Center (FRAC), “[Food hardship data] provides a unique, comprehensive and timely examination of the struggle that a very large number of American households, in every part of the country, are having with affording enough food.”

This data from the Food Hardship in America – 2010 report confirms what the Capital Area Food Bank and Partner Agencies see every day—many Central Texans struggling to afford adequate food which continues to be a serious problem. With hunger safety net programs under attack in Congress and at the State, now is the time to contact your elected officials and let them know that hunger issues should be a priority. We can’t end hunger without you.

Launch the infographic to learn about food hardship in Central Texas.

Tweet about it:

• FRAC’s #FoodHardship numbers for 2010 are out! 23.2 % of people in Texas  said they struggled to afford enough food. http://bit.ly/ejDJs1
• Help #CAFB spread the word, Austin-Round Rock’s residents are experiencing food hardship at a rate of 20.2%. http://bit.ly/ejDJs1 #txlege
• @SenXXXXXX did you know that XX.X% of residents in your state said they couldn’t afford enough food? http://bit.ly/ejDJs1 #CAFB
• @RepXXXXXX did you know that XX.X% of your constituents said they couldn’t afford enough food? http://bit.ly/ejDJs1 #CAFB
• @TexGov did you know that 23.2% of your constituents said they couldn’t afford enough food? http://bit.ly/ejDJs1 #CAFB

We only have three days left in the Walmart Facebook challenge.   When you “like” Austin Round-Rock (and tell your friends to do it, too), you’ll help bring us closer to winning the $1 million grant to CAFB. And, since we can turn every dollar into $5 worth of nutritious food, you’re really bringing $5 million dollars to help us nourish the hungry in our community.

That’s $5 Million Dollars!

Central Texas children are home for the holidays, and so is hunger, as children are not accessing the free- and reduced-priced lunches from school.  Help us make every holiday for families a little less stressful by ensuring our neighbors have access to nutritious food.