Join us Thursday, September 15 at 6:30 p.m. at the Blanton Museum for a FREE screening of the multi-award winning documentary DIVE!, a film that explores the paradox between wasted food and record-levels of hunger in America. Following the screening, our panel of local experts and the filmmaker will discuss the issues raised in the film and how Austinites can have an active role in solving this problem.

Free tickets are available first-come-first-served at the Blanton beginning 5 p.m. Thursday September 15. Paid parking is available in the Brazos Garage on Brazos Street and MLK. Parking is $3 and don’t forget to bring your ticket with you to the museum.

Our panel: Elizabeth Engelhardt, UT professor and author of Republic of Barbeque: Stories Beyond the Brisket; Hank Perret, Capital Area Food Bank President and CEO; Ronda Rutledge, City of Austin Sustainable Food Policy Board; and filmmaker Jeremy Seifert. Moderated by GivingCity Austin founding editor, Monica Williams.

Co-presenter: The Blanton Museum of Art

About the film
Inspired by a curiosity about society’s careless habit of sending food straight to landfills, the multi award-winning documentary DIVE! follows filmmaker Jeremy Seifert and friends as they dumpster dive in the back alleys and gated garbage receptacles of Los Angeles’ supermarkets. In the process, they salvage thousands of dollars worth of good, edible food – resulting in an eye-opening documentary that is equal parts entertainment, guerilla journalism and call to action.

“…An eye-opening expose on the excesses and waste of the American food industry.”

The News Tribune

“Dive! provides plenty of food for thought about how much we waste.”

The Denver Post

DIVE! has garnered critical praise while raising important questions about hunger and waste in society. This is Seifert’s first film and has been warmly received by audiences across the country, winning nineteen festivals thus far, including the Boulder International, Sedona International, DC Independent, and the Green Film Festival in Seoul.

Writer, Director – Jeremy Seifert

Producers – Jeremy Seifert, Timothy Vatterott, Joshua Alex Kunau

ABOUT THE PANEL

Elizabeth Engelhardt, Ph.D. Associate Professor, Department of American Studies and author of Republic of Barbecue: Stories Beyond the Brisket

Engelhardt examines America’s food culture and how it evolved over the past century. She studies how popular food choices throughout the United States reveal social histories of race, class and gender. In her book “Republic of Barbecue: Stories Beyond the Brisket,” she examines the barbecue culture in Central Texas.

Dr. Engelhardt’s scholarly interests include food studies, feminist theories, ecological literature and culture, Appalachian Studies, Southern Studies, material culture studies, and the intersections of race, class, and gender in American literature and society. She uses a variety of texts, including photographs, letters, diaries, novels, poems, and recipes and employs interdisciplinary methodologies to understand them. Her newest research looks at gender, food, and foodways across the South.

Hank Perret, President & CEO, Capital Area Food Bank

Hank joined the Food Bank foundation board in 2003, and was most recently employed by Zarlink Semiconductor, where he was Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Communication Products Group.

Prior to joining Zarlink, Mr. Perret was President and Chief Executive Officer for Legerity, Inc., a communications company, from November 2003 to August 2007. From September 2001 to November 2003, he was the Chief Financial Officer for Legerity. Prior to joining Legerity, Hank was the Chief Financial Officer for Actel Corporation.

Hank has also had financial roles at Applied Materials, Inc., National Semiconductor Corporation, Raytheon Semiconductor and General Electric Company. Hank holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration from San Jose State University.

Ronda Rutledge, City of Austin Sustainable Food Policy Board member, Executive Director of the Sustainable Food Center

Ronda was appointed by city council to the City of Austin Sustainable Food Policy Board, where she serves on the Access and Wellness Committee. She was introduced to the Sustainable Food Center as an affiliate consultant with Greenlights for Nonprofit Success. Prior to joining SFC, Ronda served as Executive Director of the American Indian Child Resource Center in Oakland, California for nearly ten years. She was a LeaderSpring fellow in the Bay Area – a leadership program for Executive Directors of nonprofit organizations.

Jeremy Seifert, Filmmaker

Born in Tyler, Texas and raised in Colorado, Jeremy Seifert has traveled extensively throughout Asia, South America, Africa, and Europe. He has a B.A. in English Literature from John Brown University and a M.A. in Theology and the Arts from Fuller Theological Seminary. After four years of nonprofit work, Jeremy recently co-founded the production company, Compeller, focusing on documentaries that tell stories from the heart and seek to reconnect us to each other and the earth, while inspiring real change in society. Dive! is Jeremy’s first film and has been well-received around the world, winning 19 film festivals and screening recently on Capitol Hill. When he isn’t dumpster diving, Jeremy can be found in Highland Park, CA with his wife, Nuf, and three children, Finn, Scout, and Pearl.

Monica Williams, Founding Editor, GivingCity Austin

Monica Williams is founding editor of GivingCity Austin, a magazine about local philanthropy on a mission to build and support our community’s growing culture of giving. Founded in 2007, the magazine began as a blog, then an online publication and with the next issue will add a print component as well. As an online publication, the magazine’s growth and distribution can be attributed directly to social media, with Monica using Twitter and Facebook since 2007 to share the content. While GivingCity had always been a side project for Monica, in 2010 it was adopted by the Austin Community Foundation, which now supports GivingCity’s content and distribution. Monica also produces a magazine for Mobile Loaves & Fishes called 12 Baskets, which also utilizes social media for distribution.

I’m a numbers guy.

I’ve always enjoyed crunching the numbers, and appreciate the challenge of making those numbers solve problems. That affinity led me to spend a 30-year career as a CFO and CEO,in the for-profit world. During that time, I learned that having your financial house “in order” not only meant balancing the ledger, but also crafting a budget that reflects organizational priorities.

This week’s action by Congress to get our nation’s financial house in order was necessary. Our risk of default was real, and would have had extreme consequences for our economy. However, the plan must still be executed by a select “super committee,” a group that cannot make their decisions on number crunching alone.

The numbers on the ledger always have a face and a name. Some are homeless. Some sit by you at church, teach your kids, and wait on you at your favorite restaurant. They work hard, pay their bills, and try to support their family. Despite their best efforts, they don’t always make ends meet. If something unexpected happens—their spouse gets laid off or their child gets sick—they may not be able to make the rent payment or pay the electric bill. But they are out there, in ever increasing numbers, hidden in plain view.

All of us are already facing new challenges in this economy—it costs more to fill up the car, and buy a gallon of milk. Services we previously relied upon—like prekindergarten for our children or low-cost medical care—are being reduced or even cut by the state. For many, money they hoped would cover their groceries is going elsewhere, and they are turning to food pantries and soup kitchens in increasing numbers.

Federal nutrition programs help us provide the food for those families. In its budget trimming exercise, Congress could cut funding for those nutrition programs, as well as federal funding that comes to Texas for education, health and human services, and infrastructure programs. The result of such cuts would be fewer groceries on the food pantry shelf, and decreased access to medical care and transportation for low-income Texans.

As details of the debt agreement emerge, we will continue to update you about the best way you can help protect and preserve the peace of mind we provide to hundreds of thousands of hungry Central Texans. Please be sure to sign up for action alerts on our website. Decisions made in Washington do have very real consequences for our friends and neighbors.

It’s not just about the numbers. It’s about people.

Takeaways:

1. Child hunger in Central Texas is 365 days a year.
2. Hunger makes learning difficult for children.
3. Advocating for proper implementation federal programs at the state level is one of several strategies that helps CAFB provide nutritious food for Central Texas children in need, and respond to seasonal increases in demand for food assistance.

With summer just around the corner, our Partner Agencies are bracing for a surge in the number of children they’ll serve. In our Hunger in America 2010: Central Texas Report, 43 percent of the pantries, 29 percent of the kitchens and 14 percent of the shelters said that they serve more children in the summer.

Through the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Summer Food Service Program (SFSP), federal funding is available to states for local organizations like CAFB to implement a summer food program in their community. This year, the Food Bank increased participation in the program by hosting 30 sites in Travis county, up from 23 the prior year. For the more than 77,000 students from economically disadvantaged families in Travis county with incomes less than 185 percent of the poverty level, SFSP is an important safety net for children and provides them with proper nutrition needed for learning and good health. Along with Kids Cafe, CHOICES nutrition education program, and SNAP outreach, SFSP participation broadens our ability to nourish the 20,000 Central Texas children relying on our services each week.

Federal funding, insufficient number of sites, limited hours of operations, poor outreach, and transportation issues, have resulted in poor participation. According to the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA), only 12 percent of children participating in the National School Lunch Program also participate in SFSP.

In Central Texas, participation is not much better than the state average. In our Hunger in America 2010: Central Texas Report 7.1 percent of households with at least one child younger than age 18 reported that they participate in the Summer Food Service Program. Nearly one third of those households said they don’t participate in the program because they didn’t know about it.

H.B. 643 introduced by State Representative Eddie Rodriguez amends the current law relating to SFSP by requiring a school district in which 50 percent or more of the students are eligible to participate in the national free or reduced-priced lunch program under federal law to provide or arrange for the provision of a SFSP for at least 30 days, unless a waiver has been granted by TDA. Under the current law, a school district in which 60 percent or more of the students are eligible to participate in the national free or reduced-priced lunch program are required to provide or arrange for a summer food program.

Last week, President and CEO, Hank Perret testified in support of H.B. 643. Below is an excerpt of his testimony:

Just because the schools are out, does not mean that hunger is out of session. In fact, contrary to popular belief, summer is the busiest time for the Food Bank, because hungry children don’t have access to regular meals at school. This year, we are expanding our summer program to 30 sites and expect to serve 40,000 meals.

The summer food service program is an underutilized lifeline for the millions of children at risk of hunger in Texas. In 2010, although three million children in Texas were eligible to receive summer meals, only 12 percent did. This bill will remove some of the barriers for these children by increasing the number of sites where they can receive a nutritious meal alongside fun, educational activities. The national child nutrition group, FRAC, estimates that if Texas were to increase participation to just 40 percent, we would draw down an additional $45 million federal dollars each year, all of which would be invested locally in food and programming for these hungry children.

The Summer Meals program is a strong, public-private partnership that marries the best in federal resources with educational and nonprofit community sponsors. We are proud to support Commissioner Staples’ drive to increase participation in this program, and this bill is a great place to start.

You can read the entire testimony here and learn more about the bill and the fiscal note on the Texas Legislature website.

We know that there is no “safe” level of inadequate nutrition for healthy, growing children. This is based on human biology – bodies conserve the limited food energy that is available. The first priority is for critical organ functions, then growth. The last biological priority is for social activity and learning. Short-term nutritional deficiencies – a missed breakfast, an inadequate lunch — impair children’s ability to function and learn. (Source: IMPACT OF SCHOOL BREAKFAST ON CHILDREN’S HEALTH AND LEARNING – November 17, 2008 by Dr. J. Larry Brown, Harvard School of Public Health, Dr. William H. Beardslee, Harvard Medical School, Dr. Deborah Prothrow-Stith, Harvard School of Public Health, Commissioned by the Sodexo Foundation)

Be the voice for hungry Texas children. Call your representative today in support of H.B. 634. Visit our website to find your representative and to sign up for action alerts. Learn more about child hunger in Central Texas by visiting HungerIsUNacceptable.com.

The Board of Directors of the Capital Area Food Bank of Texas (CAFB), announced today the appointment of Hank Perret as the new CAFB President & CEO. Perret has been acting as the Food Bank’s Interim President and CEO since September 2010.

“We could not be more pleased to have Hank stay and continue to lead the Food Bank team,” said Matt Dow, President of CAFB’s Board of Directors. “Hank brings more than 30 years of executive experience in the corporate world and a great passion for ending hunger.  CAFB staff and the Board are very excited about moving forward with Hank at the helm.”

Perret also announced the promotion of Joanna Linden to Chief Development Officer from Senior Director of Resource Development. “The Food Bank is very fortunate to have a person of Joanna’s caliber in the role of Chief Development Officer” said Perret.  He continued, “her extensive background in fundraising and prior executive experience, brings significant capability to this extremely important role.  I’m very excited to have her in this position and look forward to great accomplishments with Joanna and the entire CAFB team.”

Read the press release.

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.

“We come together to pay tribute to the men and women who have worn the uniform …[and]…have preserved our way of life with unwavering patriotism and quiet courage…ours is a debt of honor to care for them and their families.” A Proclamation by President Obama, Veterans Day, 2010.

It’s common knowledge our men and women in uniform return home facing enormous challenges: recovering from severe injuries; coping with disabilities; suffering post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and anxiety; and accessing the care they need.  In turn, families – having adjusted to the deployment(s) of their loved ones – also have to adjust to their return.  According to the National Alliance for Caregiving and the United Health Foundation, 70 percent of veterans’ caregivers are spouses or partners who report high stress levels and physical side effects.

Hundreds of thousands of veterans don’t have even the most basic support.  The National Alliance to End Homelessness and Homeless Research Institute found a disproportionate share of homeless people are veterans. In 2006, nearly 200,000 veterans were homeless on any given night.  Forty-three percent of veterans were receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as food stamps) benefits.

Given the effects of the Great Recession, I’m sure the realities of homelessness and hunger are much worse and more widespread today.

My boss, Hank Perret, interim president and CEO, is a Vietnam-era veteran who served in the Army.  Earlier this morning, we discussed his experience.  When I told Hank about the 2006 homeless and SNAP use statistics, I expected him to be incredulous.  He wasn’t.  “These problems go back further than Vietnam. Now we’re seeing the data.”

Hank and I talked about our own Food Bank.  He remarked, “Food banks can be a stop gap for veterans and their families, and we can help educate them about SNAP benefits. I’m glad we’re here, but the very fact that veterans need our help after exchanging their safety for ours is a shame.  We’re in the middle of two wars, with men and women coming home, unable to cope, and needing help.  When a soldier is back on American soil, the war isn’t suddenly over.  And soldiers sleeping on the streets and feeling the pain of hunger?  There shouldn’t be a further sacrifice, and we have ourselves to blame.”

I have a good friend who is a Gulf War-era veteran.  He served in the Navy.  Years later, Troy is successful and an accomplished triathlete.  I wanted his take on the challenges homeless and hungry veterans face.  Here’s what he told me:

“It’s outrageous.  In my own experience, leaving the military — after having spent all of my post-high school years there — and finding very little by way of job search and ‘get started’ support was difficult enough.  But I was fortunate enough to have the support of my family and never went without food. I can’t imagine the abandonment I would have felt if I’d been forced to deal with that.  Service men and women turn over the keys of their lives to meet the security needs of our country, and to reward that type of selflessness by neglecting them is unconscionable.  At the very least, we owe them the means to meet their most basic needs.  What’s more basic than food and a place to live?”

I’ve written several posts about nourishment being essential to uphold human dignity.  Everyone deserves to eat – men, women, children, older adults, families, people, anyone, everyone, and our country’s veterans.

It is a privilege to honor the women and men who have sacrificed for our country throughout its history and are doing so this very moment.  Our President is right: We must care for them.

Correction November 12, 2010.

For The City Executive Director, Justin Lopez and CAFB Interim President & CEO, Hank Perret

Today announced the official opening of our St. Johns Community Food Center at the For the City Center.

As one of Austin’s first African-American neighborhoods, the St. Johns neighborhood has a long, rich history, and many accomplishments in their fight for equitable access to basic social services and economic opportunities.

This new facility, designed to be a place that serves the needs of those in the St. Johns neighborhood and throughout the city, is strategically placed to bring hope to those using its resources and to revitalize the surrounding area.

We are one of five non-profits participating in phase one of the center’s offerings. This pantry is one of three CAFB run food pantries in central Texas, and is designed to serve as a model for not just Austin, but also our nation’s food banks. In addition to providing emergency food relief, we offer SNAP (food stamp) application assistance, and development opportunities to community members to help them move toward personal sustainability and away from needing day-to-day emergency food assistance. Distributions are every Wednesday from 9 to 11 a.m. In addition, there will be a special distribution for older adults on the fourth Monday of every month.

Click here to sign up for a hands-on volunteer opportunity providing direct service as a St. Johns Community Food Center Food Distributor or Shelf Stocker. And don’t forget to share with your friends!

By Hank Perret, Interim President & CEO

I read the new Census report about poverty (released this morning) and felt several things at once: extreme disappointment, sorrow and shame.

More than four million people in Texas live below the poverty line.  The poverty line for a family of four in Texas is $22,050.  Let’s break it down… that’s about $460 a week.  Think of suddenly waking up tomorrow to that reality.  What would go through your mind?  I can tell you what might go through mine: “How am I supposed to pay rent, send my kids to pre-school, pay my car note, buy gas, pay the utility bill and pay the water bill?”

Did you notice what’s missing from this grim scenario?  A critically important consideration –“How am I going to feed my family – my kids?”

This is a nightmare reality for millions of Texans.  I’m extremely disappointed about it, and you should be too.

I think about a classroom of 32 children.  Class begins at 10 a.m.  The teacher tells them it’s time for a pop-quiz to see if they understood last night’s homework.  Some eagerly pick up their pencils.  Some look nervous.  Some groan and roll their eyes.

Eight of those kids might be reeling from the physical pangs of hunger because they live in a household in which hunger is a fact of life.  Their families exist on $460 a week.

Though the kids didn’t have dinner the night before, they decide to skip free school breakfast because they don’t want to sit where the other poor kids congregate.  For these eight, avoiding breakfast is an acceptable alternative to being stigmatized for being from a poor family.

They’re hungry, and they can’t concentrate.  They fail the quiz.

More than a quarter of our kids live in poverty in a state ranked number two for its rate of child hunger.  This saddens me.

The Capital Area Food Bank of Texas provides emergency food assistance to 48,000 hungry central Texans a week through our Partner Agencies.  Nearly 20,000 of our clients are children.  I am extremely proud to be the leader of an organization working so hard to meet these needs.

But we should be ashamed to be residents of a state with such miserable poverty and hunger statistics.  This is unacceptable.

Let’s transform our disappointment, sorrow, and shame into meaningful action – let’s cultivate optimism.  Urge your legislators at all levels of government to safeguard and strengthen policies and programs lifting people out of poverty, and improve policies and programs to eliminate hunger.

We have a responsibility to uphold the dignity of individuals, families, and children.  Poverty and hunger subverts this commitment.

As a country and state with tremendous resources, we can, and should, do better.