Photo courtesy CAFB

feedbackapril - june 2010

The mission of the Capital Area Food Bank of Texas is to nourish hungry people and lead the community in ending hunger.

Hunger in America 2010, p2 | To give is to be Human, p3 | Thank you and Upcoming events, p4 & 5 | The good Things you dream will Come True, p6 | Social innovation, p6 | Hunger Heroes, p7 | Message from the President & CeO, p8

non-Profit Org

US Postage

pAId

AUSTin, TX

Permit #646

C A p I TA l A r e A F o o d B A n k o F T e x A s

8 2 0 1 S . C o n g r e s s Av e n u e

A u s t i n , Te x a s 7 8 7 4 5

A d d r e s s s e r v I C e r e q u e s T e d

donate online at austinfoodbank.org

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Hunger in America 2010: Central Texas Report

The methodology incorporated into the 2010 study includes data collected from February through June 2009. The Capital Area Food Bank conducted face-to-face interviews with 354 people seeking emergency food at food pantries, soup kitchens and other emergency feeding programs, as well as interviews with more than 250 agencies that provide food assistance.

Nationally, Feeding America collected quantitative and qualitative feedback from 61,000 face-to-face, in-depth interviews with people seeking emergency food assistance and more than 37,000 agency surveys, making this the largest, most comprehensive study ever conducted on domestic hunger.

Hunger in America 2010, released in February

by Capital Area Food Bank and Feeding America, the

nation’s largest domestic hunger-relief organization, shows

that nearly 300,000 Central Texans—including

123,000 children—receive emergency food each

year from CAFB and its Partner Agencies. The findings

represent a staggering 79 percent increase since the

previously released study in 2006, and represent the

largest increase in CAFB’s 29-year history.

The numbers mean moms and dads

must choose between paying their

rent or mortgage and feeding their

children. Older adults retired on a fixed

income must choose between paying

for medical expenses and eating.

People who were recently laid off are

now left searching in a struggling

economy for a paycheck sufficient to

support life’s basic necessities, and to

feed themselves and their families.

To download the full report, visit

HungerisUNacceptable.com.

Donate on l ine a t aus t in foodbank .org

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My name is Pedro Mercado, and I’m here with my two-year-old granddaughter, Stephanie. This is the first time I’ve visited a food pantry. I am a teacher at Brown Elementary School in northwest Austin, and I have six grandchildren and three grown children. They work odd jobs whenever they can, but are looking for more stable employment. I have been an activist in the Hispanic community for nearly three decades. I work with underprivileged youth, tutoring and mentoring them so they have a chance to get ahead in life.

There are people in the world who are dying of hunger. Food pantries like these are one way to contribute, one way to extend a helping hand. The food the people receive here supports us by leaving our limited income available to secure other resources for our children. It allows our whole family to have full stomachs. Because you help us, we are able to pay our taxes and other bills. For this, we are grateful.

This country has so much potential. It is important we use our resources wisely. Thirty years ago, when I first arrived from Mexico City, I had to learn different ways to think and learn about different cultures. I realized, though, that everyone has something in common—a need to live. The experience of living is a miracle. Everyone will eventually reach their last day and pass on, but we have an important mission: leave the world better for those who come after us. No matter what race you are or what beliefs you hold, we are of the same planet. If we do good for others, we will live well.

The future I would like for my grandchildren is one of peace: a world where race doesn’t matter and where they will have enough to eat, an education, and good health. I hope they will be able to overcome oppression and have a little more space to live. Today, there are children who are completely incapacitated. There are so many things we can do to stop this from happening. In fact, we have an obligation to do so. The Food Bank gives the community hope because what it does is embrace humanity. To give is to be human.

To Give is to Be HumanPedro Mercado’s story, January 2009, Catholic Charities Angels of Hope Food Pantry Client

(Translated and interpreted by Alese Colehour, CAFB Communications Story Bank VISTA)

It allows our whole family to have full stomachs. Because you help us, we are able to pay our taxes and other bills. For this, we are grateful.

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thank you to our community event coordinators and participants, january — march 2010!

HERE ARE A FEW HIGHLIGHTS.

Pecan Springs Elementary hosted the 2010 Central Texas Souper Bowl of Caring Kick-Off.

Touchdown! Central Texans score another successful Souper Bowl of Caring

H-E-B, Central Market and Randalls shoppers, and more than 100 area churches and schools helped transform Super

Bowl weekend into a time of unprecedented giving and serving. The Souper Bowl of Caring enabled the Food Bank

to provide more than 750,000 meals for hungry Central Texans. More than $102,000 and 580,000 pounds of

food were donated.

Special thanks to our Souper Bowl of Caring partners: H-E-B, Central Market, Randalls Food Markets, the Austin Toros,

and local media outlets KEYE TV; FOX 7; KVUE-TV; KXAN Austin News; The CW Austin; News 8 Austin; My Austin

TV; Telefutura; Telemundo; Univision-KAKW 62; KASE 101; The River 102.3; Relevant Radio 970; La Que Buena 104.3;

La Jefa 107.7; and the Austin American-Statesman.

Turnquist partners realtors Food drive

26 Miles for 26 Charities

Tuaca Body Art Ball Raised more than $1,500

Austin Crop Hunger Walk Organizers expect to raise more than $20,000

JOIN US FOR THESE UPCOMING EVENTS:

friday, january 1 – wednesday, june 30“THE BIGGEST LOSER” POUND FOR POUND CHALLENGE Lose weight while helping to nourish hungry Central Texans. Join us in the Pound for Pound Challenge, created by NBC’s “The Biggest Loser” and Feeding America. For every pound you lose through June 30, 2010, General Mills will donate 14 cents to Feeding America — enough to deliver one bag of groceries to the Capital Area Food Bank. Simply take the online pledge at pfpchallenge.com, begin your sensible diet and exercise plan, and watch your weight loss generate pounds of groceries for those in need!

friday, april 16 – sunday, april 1817TH ANNUAL AUSTIN REGGAE FESTIVAL AUDITORIUM SHORES (RIVERSIDE AT SOUTH FIRST ST.) FRIDAY: 3 - 10 P.M.SATURDAY & SUNDAY: NOON - 10 P.M.Join thousands of reggae fans and enjoy great music, vendors and family fun. NEW THIS YEAR—A third day has been added to the festival. Daily entrance fee is $15 (including tax) with a requested donation of two healthy, non-perishable food items. Purchase tickets in advance for $12.50 (including tax and service charge) at all Planet K locations. Proceeds benefit the Food Bank. Note: No dogs allowed. Thank you to our sponsor, Brown Distributing.

wednesday, may 12 – monday, june 28H-E-B “HELP END HUNGER” At H-E-B stores all across Texas, help end hunger by adding a $1, $3 or $5 donation to your final grocery bill. Tear-off coupons are available at every register. Funds collected will benefit food banks serving the community where the funds are raised. Funds from Austin-area H-E-B stores will benefit the Capital Area Food Bank.

saturday, may 818TH ANNUAL NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF LETTER CARRIERS “STAMP OUT HUNGER”It’s the largest one-day food drive in the nation! Letter carriers across the US will collect bags of healthy, non-perishable food while on their routes. Look for your bag in your mailbox, fill it with healthy, non-perishable food and set it by your mailbox on Saturday, May 8 to be picked up. Donations collected in Central Texas stay local.

monday, july 19 - saturday, july 3110TH ANNUAL KEYE TV FOOD DRIVE Our local CBS affiliate and the Capitol Area Boy Scouts of America join for one of the largest food drives in Central Texas. Participate by placing healthy, non-perishable food on your doorstep for Boy Scouts to pick up on Saturday, July 31. Or, donate at any Austin-area Randalls by purchasing pre-packaged bags of food at the entrance of the store, or by adding $1 or $5 to your grocery bill when you check out. Thank you, sponsors: KEYE TV, Randalls and the Capitol Area Boy Scouts.

For a complete list of upcoming events, visit austinfoodbank.org/events.

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thank you to our community event coordinators and participants, january — march 2010!

HERE ARE A FEW HIGHLIGHTS.

)Hyde Park Baptist Church youth held a food drive during the 2010 Central Texas Souper Bowl of Caring. Students donated more than

1,300 pounds of food to nourish hungry Central Texans.

Touchdown! Central Texans score another successful Souper Bowl of Caring

H-E-B, Central Market and Randalls shoppers, and more than 100 area churches and schools helped transform Super

Bowl weekend into a time of unprecedented giving and serving. The Souper Bowl of Caring enabled the Food Bank

to provide more than 750,000 meals for hungry Central Texans. More than $102,000 and 580,000 pounds of

food were donated.

Special thanks to our Souper Bowl of Caring partners: H-E-B, Central Market, Randalls Food Markets, the Austin Toros,

and local media outlets KEYE TV; FOX 7; KVUE-TV; KXAN Austin News; The CW Austin; News 8 Austin; My Austin

TV; Telefutura; Telemundo; Univision-KAKW 62; KASE 101; The River 102.3; Relevant Radio 970; La Que Buena 104.3;

La Jefa 107.7; and the Austin American-Statesman.

Cars and Coffee

)2009 Austin Reggae Festival

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laura, 9, has busy working parents. She stays after school every day at Hillcrest elementary and has dinner at Kids Cafe.

“i like everything they give me here,” she says. “especially the chicken and rice. My parents are always busy so i have to

catch the bus to my grandma’s house [after Kids Cafe].”

laura’s mom cleans houses for a living, and her dad is an electrician.

“i like that after school i get to eat this delicious food, and then i

get to learn more so i can do better at school,” she said about the

tutoring program at Hillcrest. “we learn how to write and how to

use punctuation and capitalization.”

“when i grow up, i want to be an author,” she told us. “A poet, actually.”

laura asked us to share some advice with you: “Sometimes life

can be a little tough,” she says. “but be happy, have fun, and be

strong, and the good things you dream will come true.”

The Good Things You Dream Will Come True

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by Alese Colehour, CAFb Communications Story bank ViSTA

Social Innovation Digital Marketing Nourishes our Neighbors

Map out all 355 CAFB Partner Agencies on our new Google maps. You can zoom in and click on locations to learn more details about each agency and view maps of agencies by city and by type of service. This map is just the beginning of additional features to be added to our website throughout the year. Stay tuned for a truly interactive experience. Check out the new maps at: austinfoodbank.org/get-help/partner-agencies.html.

The iPheedANeed iPhone App helps you make choices for work play, and volunteering, and delivers news that helps you “feed the need” to end hunger. Download this free app at: iPheedANeed.com.

Finding the perfect community event just got a little easier. Follow @events4good on Twitter to learn about events, cause related marketing and event-related volunteer opportunities benefiting the Food Bank.

Austin Reggae Festival goes mobile! Text “AusTiNReggAe” to 30644 and receive updates about the festival, and participate in fun contests and giveaways.

Listen to our Hunger Stories podcast, created by Alese Colehour, CAFB’s Story Bank VISTA, and hear clients share their hunger experience in their own words at austinfoodbank.org/stories/

Donate on l ine a t aus t in foodbank .org

Our annual “Hunger Heroes” Appreciation Luncheon in March honored our Hunger

Heroes who “turned hunger into hope” in 2009. Through generous donations of time,

talent and treasure, we provided nourishment for nearly 300,000 hungry Central Texans.

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Hunger Heroes: Serving Together to Turn Hunger into Hope

Photos by John lyon

Today, the number of Central Texans seeking food assistance is up more than 60 percent

from a year ago, and many sought services for the very first time. 48,000 people received

assistance from the Capital Area Food bank last year, including 21,000 children.

Our impact is a direct result of those unique contributions. we celebrate our Hunger Heroes: Serving Together to Turn Hunger into Hope.

)Wayne Glander, Cathy roach, spider ryan, and Cris Garzashobie partos, laura estes, eddie Garcia, leslie lockett, and danny FloresMickey Bentley, eric Butzow, and Brandon ulry

)

)ron oliveira and Judy MaggioJim & Wanda Millssandy dochen and susan Baughman Terrell Blodgett

dana shelton, eddie Garcia, and david davenportGil Jester, Marie Hand, and Carmen Jacksonkarin dicks, kristi Fontenot,

Michele Walker-Moak, and Amanda Websterrex Couch, Andi Crow, and Carlos rangel

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As the leader of a large social sector organization, I manage large numbers on a daily basis. Numbers such as 22 million pounds of food distributed, 18 million meals provided, costs associated with transportation, purchased food and building occupancy come to mind as I write this letter. But no matter how many or how huge the numbers I oversee, one number is emblazoned in my memory, a number that jumped off the page at me from the Hunger in America 2010: Central Texas Report.

48,000

I shouldn’t have been surprised by the number, but somehow seeing it in print shocked me. It’s been clear to all of us at CAFB that we’ve been in “disaster response” mode since long before Hurricane Ike hit the upper Texas coast in September, 2008. When gasoline prices topped $4 a gallon, that abrupt increase pushed many Central Texas families into the hunger line. After the devastation of Ike, the economy then lurched in the wrong direction, hitting Austin’s tech industry particularly hard. This time, the challenge faced by us and the other food banks in Texas was severe and sustained. And since this crisis was national in scope, help wasn’t on the way from communities outside the impact zone. So, eighteen months after the cracks in the economy widened and the effects of the recession filled the hunger line with families and children, pushing CAFB Partner Agencies, we share the impact of this crisis.

Capital Area Food Bank currently provides food for 48,000 Central Texans a week. Of those 48,000 people, 41.1 percent, or nearly 19,000, are children.

I understand it’s my job to manage numbers in the millions and ensure that your investment is well cared for and properly used, and that the social impact it makes is the greatest community return on investment we can provide. I am confident in our ability to deliver on that promise. But this is a number that cannot be dismissed, managed, or briefly considered and set aside. As the President & CEO of Capital Area Food Bank, I seek op-portunities to better understand this number. I recently visited the CAFB Reaching Out Center in Pflugerville to visit with staff, volunteers and clients on a busy and chilly Friday. During my time at this amazing food pantry, this bastion of care and love for those in need, the number 48,000 began to make sense. You see, it’s not one large number – it’s not a football stadium filled with fans, or equal to the crowd at a large outdoor music festival . . .

It’s the one.

That number represents the little girl who asked me if she could play in the toy area while her mother walked through the distribution line. That number represents the man who told me he was a recent CAFB donor and volunteer, but now, after being laid off, is in need of help. That number represents the single mom working two jobs to keep her family fed and a roof over their heads, or the senior alone for the first time in his life after the loss of his partner.

48,000 is the child, the mom, the recently unemployed, the senior, all members of our community, reaching out for help, reaching out for food

– 48,000 times a week.

Hunger is unacceptable. It just is.

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feedback?

CApITAl AreA Food BAnk oF Tex As 8201 S. Congress Avenue Austin, Texas 78745

(512) 282-2111 ext. 228

n e w S l e T T e r d e S i g n b y T r I B e z A .

Questions, comments, or suggestions? Change of address? Receiving duplicate copies?

Kerri Qunell, Vice President, Communications kqunell@austinfoodbank.org

read it online! Download & subscribe to CAFB publications at austinfoodbank.org

messagefrom the president & Ceo

CAFB Officers & Board of Directors

David M. Davenport President & CEO

connect with us on:

JIM BAUDIN (Chairperson), 3M, Retired

MATT DOW (Vice Chairperson), Jackson Walker, L.L.P.

JAYNA BURGDORF (Secretary), Community Volunteer

CATHERINE P. THOMPSON (Treasurer), Motion Computing

MICHAEL J. TOMSU (Immediate Past Chairperson), Vinson & Elkins

MELISSA ANTHONY, anthonyBarnum Public Relations

SUSAN A. BAUGHMAN, Clark, Thomas & Winters, P.C.

JOHN CYRIER, Sabre Commercial, Inc.

MARK DOWNING, Silicon Laboratories

VANESSA DOWNEY-LITTLE, City of Austin, Retired

RICK GESING, Applied Materials

DR . KENNETH L. GLADISH, PH.D., Austin Community Foundation

DR . DEBORAH KERR, PH.D., Consultant

LESLIE LOCKETT, H-E-B

MELISSA MITCHELL, Ernst & Young

DAVID MONTOYA, University of Texas School of Law

HANK PERRET, Consultant

SUE SNYDER, Jackson Walker, L.L.P.

subscribe to our blog at austinfoodbank.wordpress.com

subscribe to our podcast at austinfoodbank.org/stories

go mobile with our iPhone app iPheedANeed.com

@events4good