Wellness Event: Free Diabetes Testing for Staff

Paige DeLeon, Sr. Director of Volunteer Resources, and nurse

The Food Bank cares about the well-being of everyone we serve, including our staff. This morning, and as part of American Diabetes Month, our Wellness Committee organized free on-site diabetes testing. 

Two nurses from El Buen Samaritano (a CAFB Partner Agency) generously donated their time and services. They encouraged participants to fast prior to their test. With a quick prick and a one-minute wait time, each person was tested and given their results. The nurses were extremely nice and helpful, providing each participating staff member with a comprehensive explanation of their test results.

“I appreciate this free service and am so thankful to work for an organization that supports our health. It [the test] was quick, and the nurse was friendly,” said Delta Garcia, Agency Relations Representative.

Quick Links from The American Diabetes Association:

Basic information about the disease

How to eat a healthy diet with diabetes

A quick test to determine if you are at risk

Want to stay connected? Join a social network for people touched by diabetes.

Food Bank Podcasting: Giving a voice to hungry Central Texans

Alese Colehour
Communications VISTA

I have the amazing job of collecting hunger stories from our clients, donors, volunteers and staff, and today I’m excited to introduce our newest initiative: podcasting! Podcasts are downloadable audio files you can listen to and stream online.

Our podcasts feature weekly stories from hungry Central Texans. I ask questions like “How has hunger affected your life?” and “Why is the Food Bank important to you?”

Subscribe in iTunes and start listening today! Tell us about your own experience with hunger, and help us spread the message that Hunger Is UNacceptable.

Louis Blase, Catholic Charites, CAFB Partner Agency

Today’s Feature Story: Louis has a passion for cooking Cajun food. He is a Hurricane Katrina evacuee hailing from the heart of New Orleans. (Listen here.)

Subscribe to Capital Area Food Bank Hunger Stories by Email

Food Bankers dressed for the occasion.

Food Bank staff are serious about ending hunger. And when it comes to celebrating Halloween, well, we’re serious about that, too. From Poison Ivy (pictured here) to Roller Girl, CAFB staff dressed for the occasion, making this a fun Friday.

If you’re headed out this weekend, enjoy the festivities, and have a Happy Halloween!

The Food Bank reaches out in Pflugerville and North Austin.

Thanks to Tom Ramsey’s generous donation of a 6,000 square foot building, the Capital Area Food Bank is able to provide more food and client services for families through the Reaching Out Center in Pflugerville and North Austin.

Tom, owner of Snappy Snack Mobile Catering, and his wife, Monica, were already operating a food pantry from his warehouse. Tom says he has a personal connection to those who need help and says he wants people to feel welcome. When client need started to increase, he decided to devote a large portion of the building to serving clients, and offered CAFB the opportunity to assume operations of the food pantry.  

Watch the video to hear what these first-time clients had to say about their experience with hunger.

CAFB is working to turn the Reaching Out Center into a model pantry that all Partner Agencies can learn from, including the addition of the CAFB Self-Sufficiency Program, scheduled to begin in the next few months.

To volunteer at the Reaching Out Center, click here.

Creating a personal choice in food assistance.

Greg Plotkin, guest blogger on Change.org, posted a great piece this morning, ”A New Approach to the Food Bank Model.” He writes:

“Visiting the local food [pantry] has always been viewed as somewhat of an impersonal experience chalk [sic] full of long lines, barren walls and sunken faces. You show up, wait your turn and then, if you’re lucky, receive a few grocery bags full of post-expiration goods.

It is this routine that sometimes causes people to avoid taking advantage of a food [pantry's] services, even if they desperately need them.”

He also shares how food pantries are shifting from an “institutional” experience to a “super market style” to help create a more enjoyable experience for those needing food assistance. We agree. Glenda Shayne, CAFB’s VP of Community  Programs, shares the positive effects of a “client choice” food pantry that CAFB runs in east Austin.

“At the Capital Area Food Bank’s East Austin Service Center, each guest is greeted and escorted through rows and shelves of food. They can choose three cans of vegetables, and they have a choice from various meats and other high-protein foods, too. We see the success of this pantry in their faces. The “client choice” model also reduces waste associated with pre-bagging and, most importantly, promotes the dignity and respect of each guest who walks through the door.”

The East Austin Service Center serves more than 650 families each month. Click here to volunteer.

Do you know of a new approach to food banking? Share with us in the comments section below.

Celebrating volunteers and good times.

Food Bank staff and thirty volunteers met for our 2nd Annual Volunteer Leader and STAR Administrative Volunteer Summer Social at Opal Divine’s, Penn Field.

Volunteers and Food Bankers mixed and mingled, Opal Divine’s staff were awesome, and everyone enjoyed this time together.

We’re grateful for our 36 Lead Volunteers and 24 STAR Admin Volunteers. Last year, our Lead Volunteers contributed 3,891 volunteer hours!

Some info – A Lead Volunteer supports the Food Bank by training and leading volunteers to ensure they have a safe and enjoyable volunteer experience, and a STAR Admin Volunteer assists with administrative projects or Product Recovery food sorting, a minimum of once-a-week.

View photos from the event.
Video below highlights our Volunteer Leader Program. [5:05]

What we’re reading: July 2009

CAFB staffers like their biz books. Here’s an inside look into some of our book shelves.

Kerri Qunell, VP Communications recommends:
Not Everyone Gets a Trophy: How to Manage Generation Y
By Bruce Tulgan

“Generation Y, whose members were born between 1978 and 1990, can be difficult to manage. Bruce Tulgan, a writer and management training consultant, offers not only a colorful portrait of this unique group, but also shows companies how to harness its power.

Tulgan says Gen Y-ers were raised in overprotected environments with parents who respected their every word and deed. He says Gen Y employees tend to have high expectations for themselves, don’t necessarily respect authority, and often take a short-term view on paying their dues. These factors can create generational tension, especially with older workers.

Go here for more info on the book, including the fourteen most common myths about Generation Y in the workplace, and Tulgan’s actionable best practices to bring out the best in today’s young talent.”

 

Glenda Shayne, VP Community Programs recommends:
8th Habit, From Effectiveness to Greatness
By Steven Covey

“I love this book because it’s all about supervision. He emphasizes the need to know your own voice and inspire the people you supervise to find their’s, so they can become great leaders.”

 

Kim Willis, Communications Coordinator recommends:
Groundswell
By Charlene LI and Josh Bernoff

“LI and Bernoff define groundswell as ‘a spontaneous movement of people using online tools to connect, take charge of their own experience, and get what they need — information, support, ideas, products, and bargaining power — from each other. The groundswell is broad, ever-shifting, and ever-growing. It encompasses blogs, and wikis; podcasts and YouTube; and consumers who rate products, buy and sell from each other, write their own news, and find their own deals.’

This book explains social technology, what to do about it, as well as offer ways to use it succesfully in your company. Join the global phenomenon they call groundswell – it’s so much fun.”

 

Aimy Steadman, Online Development Coordinator recommends:
Texas Organic Gardening
By Howard Garrett

“This book is an easy-to-read reference for plants and plant care in Texas. This was a much more useful tool to me than many other gardening books as the pests, heat and land that we deal with in Texas call for special measures not usually discussed. The book includes:

• Which varieties of vegetables can survive the Texas summers
• An easy to make organic pest solution that can be used in most cases
• Tips on working with the land and water resources you already have available 
   

And it’s great for Texas gardeners looking for a good resource for organic food gardening.”

 

Molly Robbins, Community Events Coordinator recommends:
Basic Black: The Essential Guide for Getting Ahead at Work (and in Life)
By Cathie Black

“Basic Black encourages you to take every day and be as creative with it as possible.  Cathie Black, president of Hearst Magazines, encourages you to look for ways to stand out from the crowd and gain the trust of those around you in order to get ahead in your career and in life.  This book is stacked with significant tips and humorous stories to illustrate her point and is definitely a fun read.”

 

Chelsea Cates, Agency Relations Representative recommends:
They Don’t Teach Corporate in College
By Alexandra Levit

“This is a great book for those new to the work force (i.e., recent graduates) or those who want to brush up on professionalism in the workplace. It has information that, once read, seems obvious but is practical to develop professionally. This book addresses the basic human resources topics my business degree didn’t cover. It also includes sample documents and funny stories of do’s and don’t’s.”

 

Lisa Goddard, Advocacy and Online Marketing Director recommends:
School Lunch Politics: The Surprising History of America’s Favorite Welfare Program (Politics and Society in Twentieth Century America)
By Susan Levine

“School Lunch Politics is a history timeline of the beginnings of nutrition science and the establishment of the National School Lunch Program in 1946.  Learn about the politics and culture of food, and how federal priorities have shaped what school children eat.  If you enjoyed Fast Food Nation, you will probably enjoy this book as well.

Factoids:

• The desire to assimilate immigrants into American culture shapes the foods that were available (and are still served) through the school lunch program.
• Federal focus on child hunger did not become a priority until the World War I draft resulted in candidates being turned away due to poor nutrition.”

Inventory control: It’s more than just counting cans.

Food Bank volunteers took the day off so operations crew could take inventory. Nearly 2 million pounds of food and grocery products were counted at the CAFB warehouse on South Congress Avenue.

Why do we check inventory?

Like any for-profit business, inventory control is key to controlling expenses and operations efficiency. We place a high value on inventory and its quality because the stakes are high. Sound inventory means our Partner Agencies are receiving exactly what they need, and hungry Central Texans are getting a good wholesome product. Every product that comes into the Food Bank is inspected, sorted, cleaned, labeled, organized and placed on shelves.

We also measure the accuracy of inbound food (like donations from your food drives). Our inventory process allows us to share with you the impact of your efforts. For example, one pound of food donated provides approximately .8 meals.

How often do we check inventory?

Because our Partner Agencies order almost every day, we check inventory (on smaller levels) daily and weekly. When an order is fulfilled, product is pulled to replace it. Every step in this process is tracked. Our pounds-per-month vary, depending on the season. When we’re in disaster relief mode, inventory is monitored daily. At any given time, our South Congress warehouse can hold up to 2 million pounds of food and grocery supplies, and if needed, we could distribute the entire stock in one month.

Interesting Inventory Insights:

• For the last two years, CAFB received four Feeding America awards for operations efficiency.
• According to Feeding America, we’re number three in the nation, behind New York and Houston, in produce distribution.
• With the increased need, we also store food at warehouses in two additional locations.

Not Your Typical Tea Party

Yesterday, Food Bank friends gathered for a special Open Plate, our series of events to provide an inside look at hunger relief in Central Texas.  This event marked the official opening of the CAFB Teaching Garden, a project to encourage Partner Agencies to grow fresh, healthy food, and share their knowledge and bounty with the hungry.

Guests enjoyed an assortment of tea sandwiches and sweets by Farmhouse Delivery and painted dedication stones to decorate the garden beds. Justin Estes added to the friendly, casual, garden party vibe with a live acoustic performance.

The event attracted more than 50 guests who participated in informative and engaging talks about square-foot gardening, composting, and the Food Bank’s vision of a well-nourished community.  View photos.

Thank you: Leslie Keller with Sun Microsystems, Dick Pierce with Citizen Gardener, Custom Stone Supply, Farmhouse Delivery, Johnsons Backyard Garden, Sweet Pea with Natural Gardener and  Nile Valley Herbs for your support.

Interested in attending future Open Plate events?
Email Adrienne Lowenstein, Development Manager for more information.

“Sortin’ it Out” at the Food Bank

Today’s “Sort-it-Out” event is abuzz with connecting and good times. (“Sort-it-Out” is a volunteer and networking event specifically for people out of work and looking for jobs.)

Watch the video –

Jenny Booth also shares –