Feedback - Spring 2016

Spring 2016

austinfoodbank.org

Your Support Helps Clients like Dustin Homeless man turns to food pantries for support and gets the nutrition he needs.

Local Food Company Shares Healthy Mission Hot Dang Grain Burgers think everyone should have access to healthy food options.

Generous Gift Helps Build the New Food Bank St. David’s Foundation helped us finish 2015 with a bang with their million dollar gift.

Perseverance Helps Fight Hunger Hunger advocates have a lot to celebrate after a busy 2015.

News from the Capital Area Food Bank of Texas

Your Support Helps Clients Like Dustin Boarded windows, raccoons, sounds of rats in the walls, a dark abandoned empty warehouse without water or electricity in downtown Austin is where Dustin Cole, 27, calls home. Six blankets aren’t enough to stay warm during winter, nonetheless, he wakes up by 3:30 a.m. to get ready for work with the hope of snagging a day laborer construction gig with a temp agency. After walking a few miles, Dustin arrives at the agency by 5 a.m. and patiently waits for his ticket to be called.

Sometimes he gets lucky, and after an eighthour shift he’ll have $50 in his pocket.

Fifty dollars to cover basic necessities, clothing, a $50 monthly bus pass, child support, food and sometimes a pizza from 7-Eleven. Fifty dollars he also uses to pay for a cell phone plan that has become his life line.

“You can’t put an application in without a phone number, it tells you what bus to take where,” he says. “It’s everything, phone numbers, people, addresses, questions.”

His phone serves as his only connection to his hometown of Radford, Virginia, where he left about five years ago. There, he grew up with his younger sister farming, raising animals and bow hunting food to bring to

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the table. Although he started his higher education at New River Community College, the small town life wasn’t enough for him.

He yearned for more. He yearned for a place “worth calling home.”

After jumping from state to state, Dustin arrived in Austin in January, and he doesn’t plan on leaving. Compared to the places he has lived, not a single day has passed that he hasn’t had a meal.

When money is short, Dustin is able to go to different food pantries where he is provided with a meal or snacks from food provided by the Food Bank.

“I don’t have to spend a lot of my energy looking for food,” he says. “It saves time and energy not having to look all the time.”

Depending on the partner agency he visits,

Dustin can get anything from shelf-stable canned goods and fresh bread to a “four star meal.” The meals he receives will hold him over for a couple of days. Enough time for him to go to work or look for a job before he has to seek help at another pantry.

Even though he is slowly able to save some money, life on the streets keeps setting him back when his belongings are stolen. He has to start from zero when everything he owns from his monthly bus pass to his backpack and notebook gets taken.

The biggest blow comes every time his phone, his life line, is stolen. This year, he has had to replace his phone six times.

“Starting over, starting over, starting over, I’ve done it for a whole year now,” he says.

“Acquire stuff lose it, acquire it again, lose it,

I can’t wait to actually sit down and cook a meal, I’m going to go crazy when I get to do that.

- Dustin, Capital Area Food Bank client

it’s like come on, how about another step, my license, how about a vehicle.”

Despite the struggles, Dustin is grateful for the help he has obtained at the food pantries.

In addition to food, once in a while he’ll receive a clothing voucher. On this particular day, he was given a much needed shoe voucher for a pair of boots that will replace his worn out shoes.

“I know who the good people are, who to give back to when I am on my feet,” Dustin says. “There are a lot of good people I would’ve never met in any other situation.”

As Dustin forges ahead, his goal is to get an apartment. However, that’s only the first step for the future he’s trying to build not only for himself, but more importantly for his 8-yearold son Javier Wade, who is currently living with his mom in Ohio.

“I’d like to see him in a more peaceful environment,” Dustin says. “Austin is one of the best places to start over.”

Dustin longs to see his son and plans on having him visit once he’s built a home for him. To do this, he will finish his degree at Austin Community College and hopes to get into the 3-D printing industry afterwards.

Once he’s settled, with some time and hard work, Dustin would like to own a business.

I know who the good people are, who to give back to when I am on my feet.

- Dustin, Capital Area Food Bank client Though his dream of owning a business is a few years down the road, the food he receives from the Food Bank reminds him of one simple thing he will hopefully get to do soon.

“I can’t wait to actually sit down and cook a meal,” Dustin says. “I’m going to go crazy when I get to do that.”

Local Food Company Shares Healthy Mission In 2011, Martha Pincoffs embarked on the challenge of eating only locally sourced ingredients for a year. Unable to go out to dinner with friends, she began cooking for them at the house. The stand-out winner of this culinary adventure was her grain burgers. At the urging of her friends, she started selling her patties, and Hot Dang Grain Burgers was born.

Not only does Martha care about making healthier food, she cares about making a healthier community, too. For the second year in a row, Hot Dang Grain Burgers took part in Capital Metro’s annual “Stuff the Bus” campaign by donating 280 cases of veggie burgers.

Martha says, “Good food is a foundation for success and growth. When someone’s day starts with one of their basic needs not being met, it is impossible for them to move out of survival mode to thrive. For a holistically healthy community we have to make sure that everyone’s basic needs are taken care of so everyone can thrive. As the founder of a healthy food company, something that has always excited me is getting to be part of that solution.”

Martha first learned about hunger in Central Texas when she visited the Capital Area Food Bank of Texas 15 years ago. Martha says, “We got to see the entire operation and I was floored by the magnitude of need in our community.”

The same space Martha saw on that fateful visit is the one the Food Bank is outgrowing today, demonstrating how important it is for our community to come together and address the issue of hunger in Central Texas. “That the need in our community has out grown that space shows me how important it is for all of us to pitch in and help feed Austin.”

In the future, Hot Dang hopes to be able to tackle food education and school breakfasts for under-served schools through their “Give a Dang” program. “We want to make sure that kids get to start their days ready to learn,” Martha says about the developing initiative.

Companies like Hot Dang are essential in helping fulfill the Food Bank’s mission, and we are excited to see what the future holds for our partnership and their hunger fighting efforts.

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Upcoming Events CROP Hunger Walk February 28, 2016 Camp Mabry 2200 W. 35th St, Austin, TX This is Austin’s largest inter-faith event that brings together local congregations and churches for an afternoon of walking to spread awareness about hunger internationally and in our community.

Learn more at austincrophungerwalk.org

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Amplify Austin March 8-9, 2016 Amplify Austin is an online day of giving hosted by I Live Here I Give Here. More than 400 nonprofits participated last year with more than 500 organizations joining in for 2015. There are many different ways to be a part of the fun: 1. Sign up to be a fundraiser!

Spread the word about the Food Bank to your family and friends and encourage them to get involved in the community-wide day of giving.

2. Pre-schedule your donation!

Starting January 27, 2016 you’ll be able to schedule your donation for the day of giving in advance.

3. Give during Amplify Austin!

You’ll have 24 hours to help us promote the mission of the Food Bank by giving online at www.amplifyATX.org.

Austin Reggae Festival April 15-17, 2016 Auditorium Shores 800 W. Riverside Dr., Austin, TX This outdoor music festival features the best local and national reggae music, ethnic crafts, drum circles, clothes, food and fun. Food collected and a portion of net proceeds are donated to the Food Bank.

Patrons are asked to bring two cans of food to donate. Donated food does not lower admission price. Online advance tickets: $15 per day; $40 for 3-Day passes, at gate: $20 per day. In 2015 the event raised 2,628,257 meals.

Learn more at austinreggaefest.com

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Thank YOU for Helping Fight Hunger!

1. UMLAUF Pumpkin Carving Contest Celebrating its 11th year, the UMLAUF Sculpture Garden & Museum Pumpkin Carving Competition brought in 632 pounds of food and pumpkins.

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2. Bike Ride Drive Dedicated cyclists from Bicycle Sport Shop rode seven miles with 435 pounds of food donations for the Food Bank at the first ever Bike Ride Drive.

3. Afterhours Poster Party This annual event chose a food theme that benefited the Food Bank and raised 862 meals at the event, with more funds being counted from poster sales.

4,9. CANstruction CANstruction is one of the Food Bank’s largest annual fundraisers and one of the most creative.

The 2015 event featured 12 competitors and raised 21,000 meals.

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5,14. Austin Empty Bowl The 19th Annual Empty Bowl Project brought area potters together to fight hunger and raised more than $86,000 for the Food Bank’s “Kids Cafe” program and Meals on Wheels’ “Meals for Kids”.

6. Charlotte Pipe Since 2013, Charlotte Pipe and their employees have provided more than 89,000 meals.

7,16. A Legacy of Giving Day of Service Students from 43 Austin area schools came together to raise 42,653 meals for their neighbors at the seventh annual Day of Service.

8. Downtown Holiday Stroll This annual holiday event encourages donations to the Food Bank, and raised more than 1,400 meals for hungry Central Texans.

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10,15. Stuff the Bus Capital Metro and Whole Foods Market came together to “Stuff the Bus” with donations for the Food Bank. With the help of patrons and partners, the event raised a record breaking 47,000 meals.

11. Luminations Austinites came from all over the city to enjoy the light show at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center and donated more than 900 pounds of food.

12. Souper Bowl of Caring Kick-off The Souper Bowl of Caring kicked off with a bang at Travis High School as the community prepared to raise 1.6 million meals for Central Texans in need.

13.Crenshaw Fun Run Students from kindergarten through fifth grade raced to fight hunger at the fourth annual event that raised 21,948 meals for the Food Bank.

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Perseverance Helps Fight Hunger

By Kathy Green, Senior Director of Advocacy and Public Policy

Generous Gift Helps Build the New Food Bank Before the end of 2015, we received one of the best gifts we could have asked for — a $1 million donation from St. David’s Foundation to help us complete our new distribution facility.

The percentage of Central Texans who are hungry or at risk of hunger is growing at nearly double the growth rate of the overall population. The new 135,000 square foot facility will allow us to serve the growing population in Central Texas.

The distribution center will have double the warehouse space for shelf-stable foods, five times the refrigeration and freezer capacity, a commercial production kitchen to cook meals and freeze produce that will reduce food waste, and other improvements.

In addition to their generous Capital Campaign gift, the St. David’s Foundation continues to be a strong supporter of our Healthy Options Program for the Elderly (HOPE). The foundation donated $101,000 to help expand the program. The program’s mission is to reduce hunger among low-income seniors by providing them with free monthly distributions of healthy, shelf-stable foods. Each month,

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HOPE clients receive a 15- to 20-pound bag of non-perishable groceries as nutritious additions to their existing diets.

“We have partnered with the Capital Area Food Bank for a number of years, supporting their work to address hunger among our elderly population. With the significant growth in the numbers of older residents needing assistance, the Food Bank needed additional help to meet this need.

The Foundation, through its focus area of Healthy Aging, was glad to provide this investment in serving our older neighbors and helping to assure that they receive the services they need,” Earl Maxwell, CEO of St. David’s Foundation says.

Thank you to St. David’s Foundation for its $1 million gift to help us complete the new facility Central Texas so desperately needs, and for continuing to help us feed one of our most vulnerable populations.

We still need your help to complete our capital campaign!

To learn more or make a donation visit: austinfoodbank.org/campaign

Advocacy, especially around an issue as big as hunger, is often slow to gratify.

Congress moves at its own pace and frequently takes months, if not years to pass an initiative. Additionally, hot button issues (immigration, health care) usually push hunger issues to the back seat.

Successful advocacy takes perseverance and lots of patience.

That is why hunger advocates celebrated when Congress approved some important bipartisan tax and funding measures to help food banks and their clients just before the end of the year. Under the America Gives More Act, several critical “tax extender” provisions were made permanent, and will provide tax incentives for farmers, ranchers, and businesses who donate their food to food banks. Also, an IRA charitable rollover provision was made permanent and increases potential monetary donations to nonprofits.

On the funding side, a bill increased money to support The Emergency Food Assistance Program, or TEFAP. TEFAP provides essential commodities and is approximately 30 percent of the Capital Area Food Bank’s inventory. In addition, funding for child nutrition programs and senior nutrition programs was increased.

These programs are important to many food bank clients struggling to keep food on their tables.

These wins didn’t happen on their own, but through the collective voice of many advocates across the country calling, e-mailing, and tweeting to members of Congress. There were points during the process when it appeared Congress might go home without passing any measure.

Nevertheless, because of repeated advocacy, our representatives heard the message that these bills were crucial to our fight against hunger.

For those of you who contacted your representatives on behalf of hunger issues this year, thank you. As we enter 2016, we hope you’ll join us in urging Congress’ support for protecting and funding all federal nutrition programs. Never underestimate what your voice can do.

You Make Healthy Food Options Possible Many of us take our health for granted each day; that was the same for Shannon – until he had a massive stroke last September.

He says, “It was really shocking to me.”

Shannon had always considered himself an athlete, running regularly to stay fit. But, what Shannon didn’t account for, was that running alone wouldn’t keep him healthy. “I was a diabetic and managing it the wrong way,” he says. Shannon believes that not eating whole, more nutritious, foods contributed to his health condition.

The stroke left him temporarily paralyzed and in a wheelchair. “I’ve got a lot of friends and family who have assisted me, but I haven’t been able to work my job in web development.”

When Shannon realized he needed help with groceries to make ends meet, his mother told him about Shepherd’s Heart, a Food Bank partner pantry in Taylor. He says, “Honestly, I don’t have a choice, and the food here is much healthier than what I was buying before.

Chicken breast, vegetables, fruit, I love it all.”

The food here is much healthier than what I was buying before.

Chicken breast, vegetables, fruit, I love it all.

- Shannon, Capital Area Food Bank Client You can make a difference for struggling people like Shannon. Because the Food Bank is so efficient, a gift of $5 will provide 20 meals for Central Texans in need or, a gift of $10 will provide 40 meals.

Shannon tells us, “I think the Capital Area Food Bank realizes ‘hey, people need to eat healthier so let’s give them healthy food!’”

Shannon’s right. When you support the Food Bank, you’re providing more fresh nutritious foods for people in need. Foods, they may not otherwise be able to afford. Last year alone we distributed more than 10 million pounds of healthy produce to people across Central

Texas. By donating to the Food Bank today, you’re providing the gift of a healthy lifestyle all year long. Shannon and others like him appreciate your support. He says, “You’re nourishing people through their minds and their bodies. You’re making them feel better inside. It not only benefits them physically but mentally as well.”

You could change the future for our hungry neighbors. Will you make the most generous gift possible today?

Thank you for making a difference for Shannon and thousands of others like him in our community.

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CAFB Board of Directors Heidi Baschnagel, Chair National Instruments Corporation

John Sanchez Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.

Joyce Mullen, Vice Chair Dell, Inc.

Clint Scott CLS Partners

Terry G. Knighton, Secretary

Sheldy Starkes, MBA, PMP Booker, Starkes & Patodia, Inc.

Kevin J. Koch, Treasurer McLane Company, Inc. Melissa Anthony Sinn anthonyBarnum Public Relations Kenneth Gladish, Ph.D. Seton Foundations

Leslie Sweet HEB Grocery Company, LP Jason Thurman PlainsCapital Bank Michael G. Watkins, MD, FACC Seton Heart Institute

Timothy M. Lee thinc.small, LLC Hon. Jeff Rose Texas Third Court of Appeals

Scott Weatherford Jackson Walker LLP Mark J. Williams

Feedback?

2015 was an exciting year at the Food Bank. Thanks to your support, we broke ground on our new distribution facility, then watched the walls go up and the roof be put on. Because of your generous donations, we distributed more food than ever before, putting almost 34 million pounds of food out into the Central Texas community. And we grew our programs and operations, from pilot programs that put clients in touch with the education resources they need, to Agency Retail Pick-Up that allowed us to rescue an additional 8 million pounds of food that otherwise would have ended up in a land fill.

2015 was an exciting year, but 2016 will bring even bigger changes.

We are eager to move into our new facility that has more than double the capacity of our current building so we can reach all of the 477,000 hungry Central Texans in our service territory. As part of the move, we are thrilled to announce our name will change to Central Texas Food Bank. We are working hard to serve every corner of Central Texas, a service territory that spans 21 counties, and our name is just one change we are making as we grow and expand our programs.

As we grow, we are striving to help clients not just put food on the table, but become self-sufficient. Our hope is that clients like Dustin, who is featured in this issue, get the food they need to get through the day, and the opportunities they need to set them up for success in the future. By partnering with other non-profit organizations and health care providers in our area, we are making a bigger impact than ever on our community. We can’t wait to share our efforts with you this year.

Questions, comments, suggestions?

Change of address? Receiving duplicate copies?

Email: communications@austinfoodbank.org Read it online Download and subscribe to CAFB publications at austinfoodbank.org

Spring is the time for growth and renewal, and here at the Food Bank we are in the midst of both. We hope you are as excited about our journey as we are, after all, none of it would be possible without you.

Our Mission: To nourish hungry people and lead the community in ending hunger.

Capital Area Food Bank of Texas 8201 S. Congress Ave., Austin, TX 78745 | (512)282.2111 /CapitalAreaFoodBankofTexas

@CAFBTX

@CAFBTX

Hank Perret President & CEO

A member of

In the next issue: We have big changes coming in 2016, keep an eye out for our new name and logo

Central Texas Food Bank