The Food Bank prepares to plant a new crop.

Fall planting season is around the corner and CAFB is more than an observer this year — we have a Teaching Garden, the Grow & Give Pledge and new garden volunteer opportunities!

Excited about gardening? Here are two ways you can get involved:

• Volunteer in our Teaching Garden and help us plant seeds, weed, water, feed and harvest the vegetables.  Orientation for interested volunteers is next Thursday, August 27 from 6-7 p.m. at the Food Bank; beginner and experienced gardeners are welcome! Click here for more info.
• Donate your extra fall crop through the Grow & Give Pledge.

We’re thankful to many individuals and local organizations already donating some of their yield to the Food Bank. Watch video –

Kids Cafe: Serving warm meals for many

“Once he leaves here [Kids Cafe], he does not eat dinner. What he gets here is his dinner.” – Adrienne Rancier, Director, Boys & Girls Club, South Austin.

Watch the video -

Want more info? Click here.

Client story: “I need fresh food. I don’t qualify for food stamps.”

Mary Lou Ledesma

Mary Lou Ledesma, 82, says she learns something new every week in CAFB’s “Eat Smart, Live Strong” CHOICES nutrition class for seniors, offered at the South Austin Neighborhood Center.

The class encourages seniors to eat fresh fruits and veggies and to engage in more physical activity.

“The teachers are great. They show us exercises that help our body,” said Mary Lou. “There are a bunch of us who are diabetic.  They teach things that even our doctors don’t talk to us about, like which foods we can eat.”

HOPE distribution

Most of the class participants receive healthy food through the Healthy Options for the Elderly (HOPE) food distribution program, also sponsored by the Food Bank.

This distribution is offered once a month. Low-income seniors, like Mary Lou, receive bags of fresh and canned foods, and during “Eat Smart, Live Strong classes” CAFB nutritionists offer healthy recipes, incorporating these foods.

Mary Lou was the original owner of Capitol Cleaners and Tailors. Her son now runs the business. Her only source of income is her monthly Social Security check. Groceries from the HOPE program help her manage her fixed income.

“I live by myself, and my utility bill can be outrageous. My Social Security check is not enough, so having food is a concern. When I receive food from HOPE, it allows me to spend my money on other necessities.”

Mary Rodriguez and Margaret Hermes

Mary Rodriguez, who is legally blind, also receives groceries through the HOPE program.

“They give you carrots, potatoes, bananas — stuff that’s good for you and that you can save,” she said. “I need fresh food. I don’t qualify for food stamps, even though I only get $900 a month to pay for everything.”

For more information about our programs, click here.

CAFB Kids Cafe program = a warm, nutritious dinner

Carrie Gibson
CAFB Communications VISTA

Hillcrest Elementary in Del Valle is enthusiastic about eating healthy foods.

I visited with five of them during a recent Kids Cafe meal, a Capital Area Food Bank program that provides nutritious meals after school to children from low-income neighborhoods. There are 32 Kids Cafe’s in Elementary Schools and Boys and Girls Clubs across Central Texas.

After they told me about the benefits of healthy foods, (“Carrots help your eyes, and apples help your teeth,” said Julissa, 8), I decided to test them with a question: “If you had a choice to eat potato chips or green beans, what would you choose?” All five children yelled, “GREEN BEANS!” 

Needless to say, it was a relief to hear that at least some children understand the benefits of a healthy diet, especially since one-in-five Texas children are obese.

For kids today, it’s easy to go overboard eating all the sugary and fattening foods readily available, and often exclusively marketed toward them. The obvious ones include fast foods, sugar-filled cereals, juice boxes with neon-colored sugar water and kid-sized snack bags with greasy chips and cookies.

Most parents would be alarmed if they truly understood the health consequences of these foods and, would probably find other snack alternatives for their children.

Convenience and price are the top reasons many children’s diets consist exclusively of unhealthy foods, and why so many are overweight or obese. Even still, there are Texas families who cannot afford enough food for their families.

One-in-four Texas children lives in a household without enough food. “What these statistics obscure is the fact that both problems are ‘flip sides’ of the same coin – a lack of access to nutritious food in the home,” says Janie Singleton, President of Texas Food Bank Network. “This is why obesity and hunger are being fought in the same neighborhoods, and often, ironically, in the same families.”

These issues ignite the purpose of our Kids Cafe program. Hillcrest Elementary receives fresh produce, lean meats and other healthy ingredients from CAFB. Hillcrest staff members plan a week-long menu of nutritious meals to serve 515 students a week. The meals often include foods they have never tried like corn-on-the-cob or salads with fresh turkey cold cuts.

For some Hillcrest students, the Kids Cafe meal is their final meal of the day.

“It’s my dinner because sometimes we don’t have food in the house,” said Nadia, 9.

Just like 94 percent of Hillcrest students, the school provides Nadia a free breakfast and lunch based on her family’s income level. But thanks to Kids Cafe, Nadia also receives an additional hot, nutritious meal after school. 

“Our school has the highest rate of students eligible for free and reduced lunches in Del Valle,” said Ms. Sara Guerra, principal of Hillcrest. “I can’t promise you that they’re getting nutritious meals at home.”

Students admitted to not eating healthy foods at home all the time. “My healthiest meal is at Kids Cafe. My mom makes some healthy foods in the house, but sometimes we go to McDonalds,” said Julissa, 8.  “The food at Kids Cafe is healthier than what I eat at home,” agreed Alexis, also 8.

“Sometimes their parents work until 7 or 8 o’clock at night, which means dinner may not be ready for them when the kids come home,” said Guerra. “The food gives them the nutrition for that stamina they need.”

The students agree with Guerra. “If you don’t have food to help you think, then you will fall asleep a lot, and you won’t learn that much,” said Dalia, 10.

Kids Cafe not only serves as a place for children to receive healthy meals, but also as a safe, nurturing place to spend time after school. “It gives us an opportunity to see each one of those kids and to converse with them,” said Guerra.

“I don’t know what we would do without this program,” said Guerra.