SHW Group gives a “behind the scenes” look at CANstruction

By Emily Potts

The annual CANstruction event raises awareness for the Capital Area Food Bank and nourishes hungry central Texans. Ten teams, led by local architects, engineers and builders will have just eight hours to build their sculptures at Barton Creek Square Mall on Saturday, Nov. 13. Judging takes place at 4:30 p.m. and will be followed by an award ceremony at 6 p.m. during which the winners will be announced.

We at SHW Group are looking forward to this weekend’s CANstruction build!  A team of design professionals from our Austin office have been working with Austin students from Citizen Schools to show there’s more to architecture than just buildings.

Our SHW Group team, together with the students, will build a “Canucopia of Sweet Taste” sculpture made entirely out of canned foods. Students will work in small groups on the day of the build to construct the sculpture and serve as docents to any interested passersby.

The sculpture will be a large cornucopia bursting with a holiday dessert of berry pie and milk.  The amazing Citizen Schools students developed the clever idea for the pie and milk inside of the cornucopia. The sculpture will use almost 1,500 cans, all of which were donated from area sponsors and ourselves.

At SHW Group we strive to design schools that positively impact how students learn. During this project we were able to extend that philosophy through our volunteer efforts with the

Capital Area Food Bank. At the close of the CANstruction exhibition, all of the food used in the structures will be donated to the Food Bank to nourish hungry central Texans.

We hope you’ll come out to support our team and others as we “Can-struct” to fight hunger!

Thank you for supporting CAFB at Whole Foods 5% Day

by Rebecca Scofield, Austin Community Relations Coordinator for Whole Foods Market

I’m thrilled to report that our 5% Day raised more than $16,000 for the Austin Empty Bowl Project and the Capital Area Food Bank!  Despite the chilly, drizzly weather we had a strong turnout of guests, media coverage, and fantastic live music throughout the day. Thanks to CAFB staff, Tasty Bite, Tom’s Tabooley and Cafe Josie, who helped us share CAFB’s mission, and help with the bowl throwing and painting, and support our Community Giving Day. We’re so appreciative to everyone who volunteered their time and talents for this day including the amazing potters who threw 250 lbs of clay and all the musical performers that kept our spirits high throughout the day. Some photo highlights:

Bowl Painting, and drawings for Preview Party tickets and a gorgeous quilt by Nancy Elder.

Food bloggers Kristi Willis of Austin Farm to Table and Jodi Bart of Tasty Touring painting bowls .

Stan Irvin, Professor of Art at St. Ed’s, and a wonderful ceramic artist, spent his day with us.

Stan was a patient teacher to FOX 7’s Joe Bickett, who tried his hand on the wheel.

We invited our vendors who also support the Austin Empty Bowl Project to join us for demos during the day – here’s Tom and Bridgette of Tom’s Tabooley and Chef Charles of Café Josie .

Thanks also goes to Tasty Bites who joined us for some tasty samples.

Fantastic live music ALL DAY!   The weather brought it inside, but our guests loved it. Uncle Lucious and Warren Hood here…

Here are the painted bowls These colors will be bright and shiny when fired.  Our guests and team members painted lots of bowls to be donated to the main event on November 21^st.

Hester and Kris with yours truly – the unstoppable forces behind AEBP  Can you believe we were still THIS happy at the end of the loooong day!? !

And the cutest little chef!

Thank you all so much for your time and effort in helping us support AEBP and CAFB . We’ll see you at the big event on November 21^{st .}

Wednesday, Nov 3, is Whole Foods Market Community Giving Day

Shop and eat at either Austin-area Whole Foods Market store (Lamar or Gateway) on Wednesday, November 3, when 5% of sales will benefit the Austin Empty Bowl Project – an event benefiting the Capital Area Food Bank’s Kids Cafe program.

You can nourish hungry central Texas children while taking care of your own shopping list and grabbing a bite to eat!

We’ll have information on the Austin Empty Bowl Project (Sunday, November 21), bowls for you to decorate for the event, potters throwing bowls on the wheel, photo opportunities, live music and a free drawing for two Preview Party tickets ($150.00 value). You’ll also see this year’s fabulous quilt by Nancy Elder, as well as sample foods from some of our sponsors.

Bowl decorating at the Lamar store is from 9 a.m. – 7 p.m. and at Gateway from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. ($5 per bowl.)

Tickets for the quilt drawing are $1 each.

Enter for a chance to win the 2 Preview Party tickets – it’s free to enter! Winners will be announced Nov. 4.

Live Performances at Whole Foods Market – Lamar

7 – 8 a.m.         Woode Wood

10 – 11 a.m.     Idgy Vaughn

11 – noon         Effinghammer

noon – 1 p.m.   Michael O’Connor

1 – 2 p.m.         MilkDrive

2 – 3 p.m.         Warren Hood and the Goods

3 – 4 p.m.         Uncle Lucius

4 – 5 p.m.         Havilah Rand

5 – 7 p.m.         In the Pocket

7 – 8 p.m.         Distant Cousins

Hunger Action Month Way of the Day: Go out. Go eat. GO TEXAN.

Celebrate the menus of the Lone Star State and help kick–off Texas Wine Month! From now through October 1, participating establishments commit to bring Texas to the table by giving patrons a special Texas dining experience that supports local growers, businesses and central Texans in need. A portion of the proceeds will benefit the Food Bank. Click here for a complete list of participating restaurants.

Thank you, sponsors: Farm Credit, Texas Watermelon Association, Texas Citrus and The Texas Department of Agriculture

Thank you, Austin Chronicle Hot Sauce Festival attendees. We hope you had a smokin’ hot time!

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Thanks to everyone who attended, volunteered with us, and purchased Sizzling Summer Raffle tickets at this year’s Hot Sauce Festival. You helped raise more than $16,000 and 23,000 pounds of food – a $2,500 increase from last year. Since every $5 donated provides $25 worth of nutritious food to hungry Central Texans, your support will go a long way.

Thank you, sponsors:

93.3 KGSR, H-E-B, Ziegenbock, Silicon Labs, Time Warner Cable, Champion Scion, Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts, Car2Go, Don’t Mess With Texas, Sustainable Waves, Texas Natural Rainwater and Planet K

Thank you, raffle donors:

Austin Children’s Museum, Austin City Limits Music Festival (C3 Presents), Austin Museum of Art, Avant Salon & Spa, Brick Oven, Café Monet, Capital Cruises, Capitol City Comedy Club, Castle Hill Fitness, Chaparral Ice at Northcross Mall, Dart Bowl, Dirty Dog, Eastside Café, Guero’s Taco Bar, H2O Hand Car Wash, Horseshoe Bay Resort, Hut’s Hamburgers/Frankie and Angies Pizzeria, JetBlue, Alamo Drafthouse, Texas Paintball, Juan in a Million, Mom’s Best Friend, Naturally Bronzed, Paramount Theatre , Plucker’s Wing Factory and Grill, Rowing Dock, Russell Korman Fine Jewelry, Shady Grove, The Oasis on Lake Travis, The Rowing Dock, Torchy’s Tacos, Austin Aztex’s and Whole Earth Provision Company, Round Rock Express, Moonshine Restaurant Patio Bar & Grill, Austin Toros, Texas Rangers.

The KEYE TV Food Drive wraps up another successful event.

Thank you, Central Texas, for donating food and funds at Austin-area Randalls, and for leaving bags of healthy, nonperishable food for Capitol Area Boy Scouts to pick up.  More than $10,000 and 500,000 pounds of food was collected through this food drive.  Your support will make an impact in the lives of thousands of Central Texans who are more at risk of hunger during the summer months than any other time of the year.

A special thank you goes to our sponsors: KEYE TV, Capitol Area Council Boy Scouts of America and Randalls.

If you’d like to learn more about our upcoming events, and find out how you can take part, sign up for our Community Events e-Newsletter today. Each quarter, you’ll get tips on how to raise food and funds, read inspiring stories about events in the community, learn about special events and volunteer opportunities, and much more.

You can also visit our events page at http://www.austinfoodbank.org/events/ for a list of upcoming community events, and follow @events4good on Twitter.

It’s spicy. It’s hot. It’s saucy. Best of all, it nourishes the hungry.

Mark your calendars now for the Austin Chronicle Hot Sauce Festival. In its 20^th year, the festival has nourished our souls with great music, more hot sauce than you can shake a chip at, and much-needed hunger relief during the Food Bank’s busiest time of year. Last year you helped raise $14,000 and 29, 000 pounds of food for hungry Central Texans. Let’s not only do it again, but also break that record.

Be there:
Sunday, August 29
11 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.
Waterloo Park (12^th and Red River)

This event is free to the public with a donation of three healthy, non-perishable food items or a suggested $3 cash donation to the Food Bank.

As always, you can enter for a chance to win in the Sizzling Summer Raffle. Thanks to the Sizzling Summer Raffle donors for their generous support of the Food Bank, we’re offering five packages valued at more than $900 each! Here’s a taste of what you could win:

• The “Sizzling Summer Spree” package includes two three-day passes to the SOLD OUT Austin City Limits Music Festival and much more.
• The “Warm Weekend Getaway” package includes a round trip ticket from JetBlue and much more.
• The “Red Hot Sports and Recreation” package includes a free round of golf at Horseshoe Bay Resort, a one month pass at Castle Hill fitness and much more.

Purchase as many raffle tickets as you’d like at the festival or order online.  Tickets are $1 each or six for $5. Every $1 raffle ticket purchased allows the Food Bank to provide $5 worth of nutritious food to Central Texas families. Click here for raffle rules.

 

We can sure use your help

We’re looking for volunteers to greet attendees at the entrance, sell raffle tickets, and help with festival tear down. To sign up, email Rene Carlin, senior director of Volunteer Resources at rcarlin@austinfoodbank.org or click here.  Recruit your friends and family, too!

This Saturday, Boy Scouts make it easy for you to support the KEYE TV Food Drive

KEYE TV is teaming up with Randalls grocery stores and the Capitol Area Boy Scouts for the 10th annual Food Drive benefiting the Food Bank. Here are three ways to participate:

1. If you received a door hanger about the drive,  Boy Scouts will deliver your donation to the Food Bank. Place healthy, non-perishable food on your doorstep for Boy Scouts to pick up on Saturday, July 31. Click here to  see what items we need the most.
   
2. Donate food at your local Randalls. Look for collection barrels at any Austin-area Randalls or purchase pre-packaged bags of food at the entrance of participating stores.
3. Donate funds.  You can add $1 or $5 to your Randalls grocery bill upon checkout using special scan coupons, or click here to donate online to the Food Bank. Your donation goes a long way— every $5 donation provides $25 worth of nutritious food for hungry Central Texans.

Fun Facts:

• The Capitol Area Boy Scouts’ scouting for food program has helped feed hungry Central Texans since the 80’s.
• In 2009, the food drive helped raise more than $13,000 and 60,000 pounds of food for hungry Central Texans.
• More than 1,000 pre-packaged bags were purchased in 2009.

Thank you to our sponsors: KEYE TV, Randalls, and Capitol Area Boy Scouts.

It’s Not Too Late to Take the Pound for Pound Challenge

Need some extra motivation to lose those last few pounds?  Well, it’s not too late to nourish hungry Central Texans by taking the “Biggest Loser” Pound for Pound Challenge.  Go online and pledge to lose those pounds by June 30.  For every pound you pledge to lose through June 30, the Pound For Pound Challenge will donate 14 cents to Feeding America® — enough to deliver one pound of groceries to the Food Bank.

We have some simple tips to help support your efforts:

1. Build an online support team. Make it easy for your friends to cheer you on, and get inspired by other challenge participants. Become a Facebook fan of the the Pound For Pound Challenge. Post it to your page and let others know you’ve made a pledge to help end hunger.
2. Invite a friend. There’s strength in numbers; invite your friends to join the Pound For Pound Challenge.
3. Get healthy recipes on your iPhone. Exclusively available on the free iPheedaNeed iPhone app, get healthy, low-cost recipes from CAFB’s nutrition educators.
4. Visit the Pound for Pound Challenge website for even more tips, exercise videos and recipes from Biggest Loser trainers Bob Harper and Jillian Michaels.

Good luck and keep up the good work!

Your $1 can do amazing things!

With the way prices are going these days, the dollar doesn’t seem as powerful anymore. You can purchase about .3 gallons of gas, or maybe buy enough yarn to make a blanket for your pet gerbil.  Starting this week, though, our friends at H-E-B and News 8 have ignited the power of the almighty dollar once again.

For $1 you can help end hunger. For $3 you can help end hunger to the third power. For those who like to feel super powerful, there’s a $5 tag just for you. Heck, you can help end hunger every week if that’s how you like to shop for your groceries.

We think that’s pretty amazing, and from now until June 28, we’d love for you to share your amazingly powerful dollar to help Central Texans in need have a nutritious, healthy day.  Every $5 you donate provides $25 worth of nutritious food.