In Central Texas, summertime means hot days spent cooling off at our favorite swimming holes, family vacations, and backyard cookouts.  For too many families, summer time is a financially difficult time of year, with rising gasoline prices and soaring electricity bills stretching budgets to their limits. Worse, many young children will not have access to free and reduced price lunches through the public schools, leaving their parents to struggle to meet that nutritional gap when their household budgets are already so fragile.

At the Capital Area Food Bank, we believe no child should go hungry. That is why we are launching our Summer Meals That Matter campaign.  Join us by helping us meet our goal of raising 500,000 nutritious meals to ensure that children, families and older adults have the food they need all summer long.

Please help us spread the word and donate today.

Mother’s Day is this Sunday.  There’s no better way to make your mamma proud than by heeding the advice she’s drilled into you all of these years.  Here are our top three ways to make mom smile.

Help others eat their vegetables.   If you’ve grown to love corn, beets, or spinach as an adult, your mom may have had something to do with it.  Spread the love by filling your Stamp Out Hunger Bag with healthy foods, including canned vegetables.  Mom always said to eat a balanced meal, so  we’re sure she would approve if you threw in some tuna, beans, rice or soup to the mix.   Leave a bag or two of food at your mailbox on Saturday morning , and letter carriers will ensure the food gets into the hands of hungry Central Texans.  You can also drop off your donation at these Austin Area H-E-B stores:

Westlake 701 South Capital of Texas Highway, West Lake Hills, TX
Brodie 6900 Brodie Lane, Austin, TX
Pleasant Valley 1820 Pleasant Valley, Austin, TX
Braker 10710 Research Blvd, Austin, TX 78759

Give a gift that won’t make her smile through gritted teeth. Avoid the bad gift syndrome this year by getting your online gift through shopCAFB.com.  So, even if mom doesn’t love that  “Cougar Mom” coffee mug, she will appreciate that you used shopCAFB.com, which supports the Capital Area Food Bank’s efforts to provide meals for families in need.

Help other moms in need. Mother’s Day is not just about thanking your mom, but also honoring the often difficult and thankless role of motherhood.  Our four-part series  “A Mother’s Hunger”  highlights the struggles low-income mothers face in Central Texas and around the nation.  What better way to acknowledge the sacrifices your mom has made, than by making an online gift in honor or memory of your mother.   With your gift, we can provide mothers who come to us in their time of need with nutrition support, education, and access to vital social service programs like SNAP and the Summer Meals program.

School is almost out for summer break and while that means happy days for many, with more than 1 in 4 Texas children at risk of hunger, it also sadly means many children will be without their usual free and reduced-price breakfast and lunch. When children ramp up their activities with outdoor play, they’ll also ramp up their appetites and need for nutritious foods to get them through the long hot summer.  You can help us get ready for the summer rush by donating healthy, non-perishable food through the National Association of Letter Carrier’s Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive.

Now in its 20^th year, Stamp Out Hunger is a simple way for you to fill children’s tummies and help keep our shelves stocked all summer long.  Look out for the H-E-B bag your mail carrier will leave on your doorstep. Fill the bag with non-perishable food like canned meats, soups, bottled juice, vegetables and pasta. Then, place your bag or bags by your mailbox by Saturday May 12 for a letter carrier to deliver to the Food Bank. It’s that easy.

We’ll also have a special volunteer day on Saturday, May 12 where you can help sort and inspect donated items.   Learn more on our website.

New this year – donate at select H-E-B stores in Austin.

Our partners at H-E-B make it easy for you to pick up that extra bag or can of food  while you shop and donate to the Food Bank. Look for food drive boxes at H-E-B stores at Brodie, Pleasant Valley, West Braker Lane and Westlake.

No time to shop?  No problem. Take a virtual shopping trip on our website,  Visit our online grocery store, fill the shopping cart and donate the cost of the items to the Food Bank.  With your online donations , we can purchase fresh fruits vegetables, meats and dairy perfect for the Summer Food Service Program meals we’ll be providing  all summer long.

A special thank you goes to our sponsors:  Austin Chronicle, H-E-B and Mike’s Print Shop.

Click on this image.

We have a unique opportunity to bring a truckload of food to CAFB but we have less than 10 days to do it.   Here’s how it works:

1. Visit the Tyson Foods Hunger Relief blog post about the campaign.

2. Share the blog post on Twitter, Facebook, Google+ or Pintrest (or all of them if you’re feeling mighty social).

That’s it.

For each “share” between now and April 20, Tyson Foods will donate 10 pounds, up to a 35,000 pound truckload.

We’ve analyzed the product’s nutrition information, and according to our CHOP (Choosing Healthy Options Program) nutrition ranking system, this donation would be rated #1 – the highest nutritional value – for its protein content.   Help us fill the warehouse with the best quality products possible by participating in this campaign.

About the campaign:

Share Your KNOWledge is a part of Tyson Foods’ KNOW Hunger campaign, which strives to help everyone understand the scope and nature of hunger in their community.  This April, up to 10 truckloads of food will be deliverer to select Feeding America food banks.

What if you could shop at your favorite store and benefit the Capital Area Food Bank – with no additional cost to you?  Today, we’re launching our new shopping portal, shopCAFB.com

With shopCAFB.com, it’s free to donate. Featured vendors on the site have agreed to donate a percentage of their sales to the Food Bank on your behalf.  Through our partnership with Austin-based Give as You Get, you can shop your favorite online retailers including Target, Groupon, Amazon.com, iTunes, Sephora and many others while giving back. shopCAFB.com is also a great way to support local business including GiveRealty, Cars and Coffee, Good4Texas and many others who are committed to ending hunger in Central Texas.

With Easter and Passover right around the corner, this is a great opportunity to nourish hungry in your community while you do your holiday shopping.

But you need to start your shopping with shopCAFB.com for this to work.  We only benefit when you click on the links from the site.  Bookmark it, share it and pin it so you don’t forget.

By Emily De Maria
Community Relations Director

For the past year or so, I have been diligently prepping my six year old Leonardo about a visit from a magical fairy who will silently – but not in a creepy ax-murderer way – tiptoe into his bedroom at night looking for his tooth under the pillow and exchange the tooth for some money.

He also is aware that I work at the Food Bank and that some people don’t have enough food to eat every day.

When that fateful day arrived and his first tooth came out, I was touched when he told me that he wanted to donate his tooth fairy dollar to the Food Bank. He was also very quick to remind me that he will be donating $5 worth of food that day. With such an eager display of mathematical prowess and philanthropy to boot, we hopped in the car that Saturday afternoon and drove to the Food Bank so he could personally deliver his donation.

I’ve worked in non-profits for many years and have accepted my fair share of oversized checks with lots of zeros behind the first number. But sometimes it’s the smallest gifts make the biggest impact. I’m proud that I could share this moment with Leo and support his spirit of giving.

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

The "Apple Wall" in the lobby is perfect for group photos.

The 19 Food Banks serving the hungry in all 254 counties in Texas often collaborate on public policy issues, and share best practices. Yesterday, our Mobilizing Communities team, which includes staff from community events, marketing and communications, and volunteer services, visited the Houston Food Bank’s new facility at 535 Portwall.

This 308,640 square foot facility is the largest food bank in the nation and is more than four times larger than their old facility. To provide some perspective, five CAFB warehouses can fit inside the new Houston Food Bank with some room to spare. Thanks to generous community support to help build the new facility they are positioned and ready to reach a major goal: to increase food distribution from 70 to 120 million pounds annually.

Houston Food Bank's Lobby

We were inspired by the design’s strong focus on community engagement and a nurturing professional environment for staff and those seeking assistance alike. In addition to providing a place to safely store food, the facility includes several volunteer areas, a cafe, recycling area, classrooms, conference center, and a social services outreach center with client-choice emergency pantry. As you’ll see in the video, the shopping experience provides a respectful experience for the client, with lots of choice in a cheerful, yet intimate setting.

Here’s another video we shot of their Carousel Room, an area for volunteers to remove or insert boxes of food for sorting and handling. This innovative industrial technology is a first for any food bank and greatly improves the efficiency of the sorting process. No more “I Love Lucy” inspired conveyor belts for them.

Thank you to our hosts at the Houston Food Bank for showing us around and sharing how your new building brings your mission to life.

We often think about what we can do to make our facility a place that best serves all the unique needs across our 21 county service territory – not just those seeking assistance, but those who want to join us to help end hunger. Do you have some ideas? Send us an email at communications@austinfoodbank.org.

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

You’ve probably heard the saying, “You can’t really understand another person’s experience until you’ve walked a mile in their shoes,” or maybe you’ve read the poem Footprints in the Sand. Church World Service’s CROP Hunger Walk is an opportunity to not only put yourself in someone else’s shoes, but also to help carry someone in need through tough times through this symbolic demonstration of empathy and collective compassion.

Austin’s annual CROP Hunger Walk is this weekend, March 3 and 4 at Walter E. Long Park. Join your neighbors of different ages, faiths and backgrounds all walking together for one mile to raise money for hunger, disaster relief and self development projects around the world and in Austin. Locally, a percentage of the funds support CAFB’s Fresh Food for Families, Healthy Options for the Elderly, “Wheels of Sharing” Mobile Food Pantry and select Partner Agencies. Last year, CROP walkers raised more than $85,000 making this the 7^th largest CROP hunger walk in the nation.

You can support a team, support an individual participant, or register to walk.

Look for the Food Bank where you can find clues to the ScavHunger Hunt and learn about hunger in Central Texas.

Walter E. Long Park
6614 Blue Bluff Road
Austin, TX

Saturday, March 3
9:30 a.m. Registration
Walk begins at 10 a.m.

Sunday, March 4
1:45 p.m. Registration
Walk begins at 2:30 p.m.

Pets are welcome.

Thank you, sponsors: Church World Service, Steve Vinklarek, Guero’s Taco Bar, H-E-B, LCRA and iACT (Interfaith Action of Central Texas)