Feedback - Spring 2020

News from the Central Texas Food Bank

Spring 2020

What’s INSIDE You’re helping Albert and Crystal’s family grow healthy and strong Make Your Amplify Austin gift to fight child hunger Diana’s so grateful for your generosity

YOU CHANGE LIVES THROUGH YOUR GENEROUS SUPPORT

You’re Helping Albert and Crystal’s Family Grow Healthy and Strong Albert and his wife, Crystal, their kids’ health and well-being avid volleyball player, and despite are raising their growing family in — they want them to grow up big having a disability, their son, Mark, Georgetown. The couple speaks and strong. All the children are thrives in both boxing and wrestling.* glowingly about their children. When good about filling their plates with They wouldn’t have the energy to visiting The Caring Place, a Central vegetables Albert proudly says he keep pace with their peers on the Texas Food Bank partner near their raised them not to be picky eaters. court and in the ring if it weren’t for generous friends like you. home, they had their youngest — a precious 20-day-old infant — in tow.

Because you choose to give, Countless Central Texas Crystal and Albert can visit The Albert learned about The Caring families have renewed Caring Place once a month and take Place from Crystal’s brother. He home a variety of healthy foods — was having a tough time making hope because you choose including nutrient-rich fruits and his income stretch. Hard as it was vegetables. The couple couldn’t be to admit he needed help, Albert to give. more grateful for your partnership was glad he reached out, for his in filling their family’s table with family’s sake. nutritious meals.

The kids are active and resilient, As caring parents, he and This spring, you can help reach Crystal are always concerned about too. Their daughter, Hailey, is an

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even more Central Texans with the healthy food they need to thrive through your participation in Amplify Austin!

It sounds cliché, but it’s true — our community’s children are our community’s future. I hope you’ll help ensure a bright tomorrow for the Austin area with a special gift during Amplify Austin. Your gift will be matched to share even more meals and groceries!

You make Central Texas an even better place to call home. On behalf of neighbors like Albert and Crystal, thank you for your partnership in the fight against hunger.

*Children’s names have been changed to protect identity.

“We’re really grateful for the healthy options for our kids.”

— Albert

COLLEGE HUNGER: A GROWING PROBLEM IN OUR REGION Advocacy efforts at the Central Texas Food Bank often involve educating stakeholders about specific populations struggling with food insecurity within our region. Many of the people we serve do not qualify for federal nutrition assistance programs and rely on the Food Bank’s network to meet their nutritional needs. It all boils down to one simple phrase: The face of hunger isn’t what you think.

Many of those stakeholders are surprised to learn that a growing portion of Central Texans facing food insecurity are college students.

Studies conducted by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and #RealCollege Survey in 2018 reflected an alarming trend on campuses nationwide. In the #RealCollege survey, 45 percent of students at both twoand four-year colleges reported experiencing food insecurity.

The GAO analysis concluded that potentially millions of students are at risk of not having access to nutritious and affordable meals, with many of those right here in Central Texas. GAO recently issued recommendations to the USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) to make nutrition assistance programs more accessible and understandable to students, and FNS is expected to take action on those recommendations in 2020.

In the interim, the Central Texas Food Bank is dedicated to serving all college students in our region and ensuring them access to nutritious food regardless of eligibility to participate in federal programs. One way we do this is through our Mobile Pantry location at the Austin Community College Riverside campus. Launched in 2018, we currently serve more than 2,400 households at the site each year. Eighty-four percent of those households are students.

Another exciting new partnership with Baylor University launched just this year. The Central Texas Food Bank will assist in serving more than 460 students each month on campus through “The Store at Baylor,” enhancing student access to nutritious food and expanding produce availability.

As we await potential changes at the federal level, the Food Bank will continue to advocate for policies and resources with our state and municipal partners — and explore innovative ways to fight student hunger here in Central Texas.

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YOU’RE A LIFELINE TO CENTRAL TEXANS FACING Applied Materials Fight Against Hunger

Souper Bowl of Caring

2020 Challenge: Engage YOUR Community!

Mace Massingill’s 6th Annual #NoHunger Campaign

In its 25th year, the Applied Materials Fight Against Hunger campaign is the largest employee-led fundraiser benefitting the Central Texas Food Bank, creating more than 5 million meals in the past five years alone!

The Central Texas Food Bank is committed to finding the best and most efficient way to feed hungry Central Texans. In 2020 we challenge you to engage your personal community in the fight against hunger! The very best way to raise food for the Food Bank is to host a Virtual Food Drive, which raises dollars instead of the traditional canned food drive. The funds you raise go further at the Food Bank. Gather your friends, family and coworkers and create a Virtual Food Drive today: centraltexasfoodbank.org/vfd

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Leading up to the big game, Central Texans helped tackle hunger by visiting local H-E-B, Central Market and Randalls stores during the annual Souper Bowl of Caring campaign.

Thank you to all the customers who made a cash donation or purchased a pre-packaged bag of food to fight hunger!

Mace Massingill has done in his 12 years what most could only dream of doing in a lifetime. With the completion of his 6th #NoHunger food and fund drive during the holidays, he surpassed his goal of creating 1 million meals for hungry Central Texans!

G HUNGER

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UPCOMING EVENTS

Make Your Amplify Austin Gift to Fight Child Hunger We hope you’ll join your caring neighbors by making a generous gift to the Food Bank during Amplify Austin. This year, your generosity will be used to help alleviate childhood food insecurity.

donors to make a gift between now and March 6! Make your Amplify gift now at bit.ly/Amplify2020 and help unlock Hank’s $10,000 match!

You can champion the fight against childhood hunger by making a financial One in five Central Texas children contribution, enrolling in monthly face hunger. There’s a clear and urgent giving or starting a special fundraiser of need for child feeding programs to your own. make sure our community’s kids have This campaign may have started in enough nutritious food so they can Austin, but it changes lives across the grow up strong and healthy.

21 counties the Food Bank serves.

When you give between 6 p.m. on During Amplify Austin 2019, Thursday, March 5 to 6 p.m. on Friday, March 6, your donation will be eligible we were able to share more than for matching funds from the St. David’s $320,000 worth of food with our Foundation and hourly prizes that will neighbors facing hunger. Will you help provide even more food to feed make your impact even greater.

Central Texas’ future this year?

But you don’t have to wait until Nearly 150,000 local children March to have your gift leveraged! are at risk of missing meals every day.

Early giving began January 21. The Central Texas Food Bank’s former I hope you’ll help fulfill growing kids’ CEO, Hank Perret, will donate most basic need: healthy food. Thank $10,000 if we can get 200 generous you!

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Austin Reggae Festival | April 17 – April 19, Auditorium Shores in Austin Save the date for this three-day extravaganza of reggae and world music, arts, crafts, food and great people watching. A portion of ticket sales goes to the Food Bank, so bring a friend and enjoy the music!

Visit austinreggaefest.com and buy your tickets today.

CROP Hunger Walk | March 1 at 2 p.m., Camp Mabry in Austin Join us for the 2020 Austin CROP Hunger Walk. Last year, walkers raised more than 50,000 meals.

The Walk will feature a live DJ, local hunger-relief organizations and hunger education stations for the whole family. All are welcome! Find more information at crophungerwalk.org/austintx.

Even More Events Stay in the know about the latest opportunities to fight hunger at Central Texas Food Bank events. We list upcoming events on our website at centraltexasfoodbank.org/events, and you can find timely updates on Twitter and Instagram at @ctxfoodbank as well as Facebook. com/CentralTexasFoodBank.

“Thank you so much for the support.”

— Diana

Diana’s So Grateful for Your Generosity With two growing sons at home — and we try to feed the kids vegetables Axel, 8, and Alan, 14 — Diana and her like broccoli, potatoes and lettuce.” husband almost always have trouble Your support is helping Diana and keeping their kitchen stocked. her husband fill their family’s table The boys are able to eat free meals with nutritious, balanced meals. Until at school when classes are in session, Diana can find a job to supplement but it can be hard to afford enough her husband’s income, she’s so glad food on their dad’s wages as a server she has somewhere to turn for help when the kids are home on evenings, feeding her kids. weekends and breaks from school.

Diana has a message for the Fortunately, through Axel’s school, people who help provide her family Diana found out about the Central with healthy food, and she’s excited to Texas Food Bank Mobile Pantry that share her thanks. visits Galindo Elementary in Austin.

“You’re kind, and your help “These programs are ver y benefits families so much,” she says important,” Diana says of mobile food to friends like you. “Thank you so pantries. “We receive plenty of food much for the support.”

You bring renewed hope to the people in our community who need it most. Thank you for your gifts!

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BOARD OF OF DIRECTORS BOARD DIRECTORS Jen Alessandra, Chair Frontdoor

Pat Massey IBM Corporation

Stephen Portner, Vice Chair

John Sanchez

Timothy M. Lee, Treasurer Treat Health Corporation

Alice Starr

Shaun Cranston, Secretary Halff Associates, Inc.

Anneliese Tanner Austin Independent School District

Ann Benolken Ascension Seton

Scott Weatherford Jackson Walker LLP

Kelli Green St. Edward’s University

Mark J. Williams

Pete Inman Camino Real Financial Strategies

Shayne Woodard Waterloo Lobby & Advocacy, Inc.

Hari Jayaram Applied Materials

MESSAGE from the PRESIDENT & CEO Dear Friends, It’s almost our favorite time of year — Amplify Austin! Every spring, this fundraising effort highlights the incredible generosity and compassion that are alive and well here in our community.

Last year we were able to provide more than $320,000 worth of food through Amplify Austin. During the 2020 event, our goal is to provide food for Central Texas children who might otherwise go hungry. Will you feed our community’s future by joining us for Amplify Austin?

In fact, you can make your special Amplify Austin gift today! Just visit bit.ly/AmplifyATX2020 to make your donation, which will be matched to help provide double the meals for children facing hunger.

You can learn about the impact your gift will make in this spring edition of Feedback. Our cover story features Crystal and Albert’s growing family — they welcomed a precious baby just a few weeks before we met them at their local Food Bank partner in Georgetown. I hope you’ll take some time to hear about how your support is bringing the couple and their children hope.

FEEDBACK? Questions, comments or change of address?

Email: communications@centraltexasfoodbank.org Read it online Download and subscribe to Food Bank publications at centraltexasfoodbank.org

Do you know someone in need of food assistance? Help spread the word about the “Find Food Now” feature on our website. When you visit www.centraltexasfoodbank.org and click on “Find Food Now” at the top of the page, you’ll be able to search for FREE help with food by location and type of assistance: groceries, hot meals, or kids’ meals.

When you’re able to connect kids and their families with healthy food, you’re helping ensure our community’s bright future.

Thank you sincerely for your partnership in this important work. Our programs are expanding to provide even more needed meals and groceries in 2020. Together, we can solve hunger for countless Central Texans in this new year — and decade!

Derrick Chubbs President & CEO

Our mission: To nourish hungry people and lead the community in the fight against hunger.

6500 Metropolis Dr., Austin, TX 78744 | 512.282.2111 /CentralTexasFoodBank

A member of

@CTXFoodBank