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.

Credit: Citizen Generation

Mardi Gras and carnival celebrations during this time of year mean different things to different people. For some, it’s to mark a time of celebration before the Christian Lent season. For others it’s a time to celebrate with great food, beads, costume and festive gatherings. Thanks to Citizen Generation’s CharityBash Masquerade Ball held last Saturday, it is also a time to ensure Central Texas families don’t go hungry.

Credit: Citizen Generation

More than 500 Mardi Gras mask-wearing philanthropists helped raise funds for the Capital Area Food Bank at the event. Attendees enjoyed live entertainment, great food from local restaurants, and a signature cocktails by Texas-based Deep Eddy Vodka.

Credit: Citizen Generation

Their centerpiece decoration designed by Architects Clayton&Little was an amazing eight-foot snowflake can-struction made from canned tuna and vegetables.

Credit: Citizen Generation

Because of your special night on the town there will be fewer families spending their nights hungry. Thank you.

More photo galleries from around the web:

CharityBash’s Facebook page

Do 512.com Flickr set

Austin360.com A-List Gallery

Enjoy blood orange and champagne popsicles from GoodPop at CharityBash. Photo by Citizen Generation

Charity Bash, where Austin’s young and charitable party the night away, has sold out of online tickets. No need to worry – you can still purchase tickets at the door for $100 per person. Bring your masquerade mask, appetite, and wallet for a fun-filled evening including:

• open bar and entertainment
• silent auction packages from Moonshine Patio Bar & Grill, Pure Barre Austin, and My Texas Smile;
• blood orange and champagne popsicles from GoodPop;
• fig in a pig from TenOak;
• mini root beer floats from Austin Terrier;
• pulled pork semolina cakes topped with slow roasted pulled pork and drizzled with chipotle hollandaise sauce from J. Black’s Feed Good Lounge;

and much more.

The 2^nd Annual CharityBash Masquerade Ball at the Texas Federation of Women’s Club Mansion is this Saturday, February 18 from 8 p.m. until midnight. Proceeds benefit the Capital Area Food Bank.

CharityBash is hosted by Citizen Generation, an Austin nonprofit creating the habit of giving through philanthropy and community programs.

Grammy-award winning solo pianist George Winston will be performing at One World Theater from Friday, February 17 through Sunday, February 19.  His new CD Love Will Come –The Music of Vince Guaraldi, Volume 2, is Winston’s follow-up tribute album to the late composer – Winston’s musical hero.  Please bring healthy, non-perishable food items to the concert.

Visit the One World Theater website for more details and to purchase tickets.

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.

Our warehouse is filled with so many bags of food and we’re starting to run out of room.

We have tons of food just waiting to be sorted and inspected by volunteers.

So, that’s why we still need your help to get the food out fast. Consider scheduling a few hours out of your day to help inspect, sort and package food ready for distribution. This is a great opportunity to do teambuilding with your co-workers, connect with your friends, or make new ones. We especially need volunteers Monday through Wednesday. Sign up to volunteer.

Thank you to the congregations, schools businesses and food retailers who helped us reach our goal. We couldn’t of done it without your dedication and support. A special thank-you goes to: H-E-B, Central Market and Randalls Food Markets and Austin’s top media outlets: Fox 7; KEYE TV Channel 42; Telemundo Austin; KVUE-TV; KXAN Austin News; Univision KAKW 62; Telefutura Austin; YNN; The CW Austin; My Austin TV; 107.1 La Z; 98.1 KVET; KASE 101; AM 1300 The Zone; La Que Buena 104.3; La Jefa 107.7; Austin American-Statesman; The Jewish Outlook; CultureMap Austin and the Capitol Area Council Boy Scouts.

We’re also excited to report that we have surpassed last year’s fundraising and have raised more than 896,000 meals! Our warehouse staff and volunteers have been busy getting the food out as quickly as possible, but we could sure use some extra hands. Volunteer shifts are available during the week, and on select evenings.

John Turner with the Capital Area Food Bank, and Leticia Mendoza with H-E-B were on FOX 7 this morning to share the latest news and how you can help.

We’re almost to our goal of 1 million meals. Buy a bag. Scan a tag. It all adds up.

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.

Since Johnathan Bloom’s book American Wasteland released last year, the issue of food waste in America is starting to get more attention and we couldn’t be more pleased. The movie DIVE! that we showed at the Blanton Museum during Hunger Action Month in September, explores the paradox between food waste and hunger in America. Food Network recently premiered a special called The Big Waste which challenged chefs Bobby Flay, Michael Symon, Anne Burrell and Alex Guarnaschelli to create a multi-course gourmet banquet in 47 hours using only food destined for the trash heap. In the world of philanthropy and awareness, Austin-based, Halfsies provides restaurant-goers with the option to choose a healthier portion size reduce food waste and donate the cost of half their meal to help end hunger. The Love Food Hate Waste campaign provides U.K. consumers and businesses with money saving tips, safe food storage ideas, recipes and more.

Some quick facts on food waste in America:

• Each year, American food waste represents the energy equivalent of 350 million barrels of oil, enough to power the whole country for a week. Source: University of Texas
• The U.S. spends about $1 billion a year to get rid of food waste. Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
• As much as 25 percent of the food we bring home is wasted. Source: University of Arizona – The Garbage Project

Your support helps grocers donate, not dump food.

Our food bank has had a close connection with this issue for many years. Since 2007, we have prevented more than 19.6 million pounds of food from going to waste. CAFB’s Central Texas Food Rescue program provides grocers and wholesalers a safe and cost-effective way to donate tons of food and help nourish hungry Central Texans. Last fiscal year alone, our partners from H-E-B, Walmart, Whole Foods and other retailers donated more than 6.2 million pounds of fresh produce, meat, dairy, breads and other food items destined to the landfill or compost pile.

Food rescue isn’t just for big grocers. You can help, too.

Angela Henry, RD LD and Nutrition Education Manager for CAFB’s CHOICES nutrition education program put together these tips for you to use each day and help reduce food waste. With all the money you’ll save on feeding your family, consider using the extra cash to provide a meal to those who could use some help. Visit our virtual shopping cart and shop online today.

Ten ways you can waste less food:

1. Plan before you go to the grocery store by making a shopping list. Get ideas from supermarket specials or coupons for what is on sale. You will not only get a better deal on some of the more expensive items on your list, but you can use this to get inspiration for menu planning.
2. Check pantry and refrigerator shelves before heading to the store. Check to see what foods you already have and make a list for what you need to buy.
3. When buying fresh fruits and vegetables, buy in season to ensure fresh flavor, affordability and good nutrition. If you are not planning to use the produce within a couple of days, buy some that need more time to ripen.
4. Choose canned fruits and vegetables if you think fresh fruits and vegetables may go bad before you can use them. Canned produce can be just as nutritious as their fresh counterparts. Look for “low sodium” canned vegetables when possible. Look for fruits “canned in their own juice” for better nutrition
5. Make foods easier to prepare by trying new ways to cook foods. For example, try using a slow cooker or crock-pot to cook stews or soups. Stews and soups are great ideas for using up ingredients! See Butternut Squash and Apple Soup recipe below.
6. Do “batch cooking” when your food budget and time allow. For example, divide meals into family sized portions and freeze meals to use later in the month.
7. Modify recipes based on ingredients you have on hand including leftovers.
8. To avoid waste when cooking for one or two people, try a “planned over” idea. Planning for leftovers can use up ingredients to give you more than one meal. Try leftover chicken in a stir-fry or in a salad or make a chicken chili.
9. Remember there is a limit to how long food can safely be kept. Temperature and time cause bacteria to grow, so it is important you do not keep leftovers too long. Also, use a refrigerator and freezer thermometer to track storage temperatures. Refrigerators should be 41°F or below. Freezers should be 0°F or below. When in doubt, toss it out!
10. Buy only the amount you and your family will eat before food spoils. See attached chart, “Store It, Don’t Ignore It” for refrigerator/freezer storage chart.

Adapted from: choosemyplate.gov

Look at all these bags!

Souper Bowl of Caring is in full swing, food donations are coming in at a steady pace and Central Texans are purchasing pre-packaged bags of food at their local Randalls, H-E-B and Central Market.

Within the last few weeks, we’ve received nearly 400,000 pounds of food. Our warehouse can only hold so much food, and we’re running out of space to put it all. Now we need your help to get food out the door. 

Each tote can be filled with at least 1,000 pounds of food.

As a volunteer, you’ll help inspect, clean, sort, box and make donations ready for distribution to Partner Agencies and their clients. We accept volunteers as young as 8.

Volunteer shifts

• Monday – Saturday, 9 a.m. – noon
• Monday – Saturday, 1 – 4 p.m.
• Thursday 6 – 8:30 p.m. (18 and older only)

Volunteer With Your Family

Youth ages 8 to 17 and their families are invited to volunteer on the first Tuesday of the month from 6 – 8 p.m.

Volunteer With Your Workplace

By working together on a community focused project, employees reap the benefits of community involvement, pride and a sense of accomplishment. You may also be able to double or triple your impact with corporate matching gifts. Contact your human resources representative to find out how to turn your volunteer hours into financial gifts to feed hungry Central Texans. To schedule your workplace group to volunteer, contact Emily DeMaria at edemaria[at]austinfoodbank.org.

Hunger can’t wait. Please sign up today.

Watch this video about how you can continue to support Souper Bowl of Caring.