Thank you, Austin, for a successful, first-ever Oktoberfest!

 

Oktoberfest brought together some of the city’s best beer, bands and tasty food this past weekend. Austin’s favorites Guy Forsyth, Dustin Welch, Nakia and his Southern Cousins, and others entertained the festival goers.

And get this, thanks to all the volunteers and attendees, the Food Bank raised more than $3,700 and 2,400 pounds of food for hungry Central Texans!

Thank you, Austin!

Click here to see more photos from this event.

Did you go to Oktoberfest? What was your favorite part? Share your story in the comments section below.

Dine out at the Cheesecake Factory and they’ll donate to the Food Bank.

 

 

Photo courtesy The Cheesecake Factory

How would you like a piece of Stefanie’s Ultimate Red Velvet Cake Cheesecake with moist layers of red velvet cake and cheesecake covered with a special Cheesecake Factory cream cheese frosting?  25¢ from the sale of each slice will be donated to Feeding America, the nation’s food bank network. 

Sound too decadent? Well, there are more than 30 cheesecakes from which to choose (and, yes, there are healthy salads if you’re watching your weight).

On Sept. 30, and as part of Hunger Action Month, bring two cans of non-perishable food with you when you eat at the Cheesecake Factory and they’ll donate 10 percent of your bill to the Food Bank.

Treat yourself to a hunger-ending meal.

Celebrate Texas menus and wines while helping our neighbors in need.

Next week (Sept. 28 – Oct. 2), The Texas Department of Agriculture’s GO TEXAN program invites you to dine-out at participating GO TEXAN restaurants during the 2009 GO TEXAN Restaurant Round-Up, and a portion of the days proceeds will go to local food banks.

Visit  www.GOTEXANRestaurantRoundUp.com to find a GO TEXAN restaurant near you. Participating members will be serving special Texas menu items – giddy up!

Don’t forget to sign up to win Texas-sized giveaways, including an in-home wine tasting and a gift basket full of popcorn, coffee and chocolate!

Good times at the 2009 Hot Sauce Festival!

Thanks to everyone who joined us at this year’s Hot Sauce Festival including volunteers, vendors and festival go-ers. You helped raise $14,269 and 29,413 pounds of food for hungry Central Texans, nearly 8,000 pounds more than last year. Good salsa, good people, good times!

See more photos from the event.

A smokin’-hot time this Sunday!

19th Annual Austin Chronicle Hot Sauce Festival
Sunday, August 30
11 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.
Waterloo Park (15th St. and Red River) 

 

Enjoy local music and a heated hot sauce competition!  Make a cash donation or bring three healthy, non-perishable food items to benefit the Food Bank.

The Sizzling Raffle is Back!
Enter the Sizzling Raffle for a chance to win great prize packages valued up to $800 each!  Tickets are $1 each or 6 tickets for $5. 

Thank you, sponsors:  107.1 KGSR, Buffalo Billiards, Capital Metro, Champion Scion, H-E-B, Planet K, Silicon Laboratories, Sustainable Waves, Texas Culinary Academy and ZiegenBock.

“Sort it Out” with CAFB: A volunteer and networking event, complete with happy hour.

Join us for “Sort it Out” on Thursday, May 21, and volunteer in Product Recovery while networking and sorting food drive donations.

Details:

• Volunteering and networking at the Food Bank  1 – 4 p.m. 
• Happy hour at Serrano’s Southpark Meadows  4 – 5 p.m.

Volunteers earn a free drink ticket, compliments of Serrano’s.

Also, get networking and job-hunting tips from Marny Lifshen, author of Some Assembly Required: A Networking Guide for Women.

RSVP to René Carlin at rcarlin@austinfoodbank.org or call (512) 684-2541.  This opportunity is limited to 65 volunteers. RSVP today!

Who No Waan Come to…

the 16th Annual Austin Reggae Festival!

Every year, reggae fans, music fans and peeps of all ages come together at Austin’s very own Auditorium Shores for this awesome outdoor venue. The music is rockin’ and the food is fantastic. Local vendors spread the love with their handmade goodies. Watch the video -

 

You don’t want to miss this fun event!

April 18-19
Noon-10 p.m.
Auditorium Shores

Click here for more details. Purchase tickets online.

SouperStructures 2008

The creative geniuses at Applied Materials host a year-long Food and Fund Drive to raise money, food and awareness for the Food Bank. They hold various events, including the SouperStructures contest. This year, six teams participated, each creating a theme and designing structures from canned-goods, to be donated to the Food Bank.

 

2008 SOUPerstructures winner - B33

Of the six teams, this year’s winner is: drum role please…Building #33

 

B33’s SouperStructure is based on “Technology Working to End Hunger.” They designed an IPOD with the slogan, “An Apple a Day Keeps Hunger Away.” Sixty-two employees used 549 cans to create the overall design and build. Congratulations, B33!

 

Other structures and themes included: Rubik’s Cube, Hungry Man with a Pleasant Suprise, End Hunger, The Little Engine that Could, and Improving the Way You Live. Click here to see more photos.

 

Through this event, Applied Materials donated more than 2,500 cans of nutritous food to the Food Bank.

 

Thank you for support!

 

 

CAN you dig it?

On November 8th and 9th, Barton Creek Square Mall and The Austin CW kicked off CANstruction competition.

CANstruction is a fun food charity involving a design/build competition where teams of architects, engineers, and students mentored by professionals compete to design and build giant structures made entirely from cans of food.  

The designs are on display now through Nov. 16th, at Barton Creek Square Mall.  At the close of the exhibition, all the canned food used in the structures will be donated to CAFB.

During the exhibition, you can donate healthy, nonperishable food items in one of the barrels. 

The structures are incredible – go check them out!

Photos courtesy of Austin CW.

Tricks and Treats at Zilker Park

Children donate canned food items before entering the Halloween Trail

You’re invited to Zilker Park on Sunday, October 26, from 2-5 p.m. for the Zilker Trick-or-Treat Trail. 

The event is free with a donation of two healthy nonperishable food items to the Food Bank and will be held under the magical Moonlight Tower.

There will be a variety of carnival-type booths, entertainment and yummy concessions. Games inlcude Mummy Bowling, Frankenstein Slime and Ghostly Ring Toss – oooooh.

This little mummy drops his donation in the CAFB cauldron.

Joe McDermott will kick-off the day’s entertainment with his sing-along melodies. And it wouldn’t be the same without the Halloween costume contest – you’ll definitely want to come dressed to win.

Parking is provided on the Polo Fields and off Stratford Drive. Special needs’ parking is also provided on the Polo Fields.