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F&FD Success Story

F&FD Success Story

Gary Daniel
Cliff Over Lake Austin Food & Fund Drive Coordinator

Since 2001, Gary Daniel has coordinated the Cliff Over Lake Austin Food & Fund Drive, enabling the Food Bank to provide nearly 200,000 meals for hungry Central Texans.

Gary credits the beginnings of his philanthropy to his third grade teacher, Ora Stanley, who, in his hometown of New Orleans, encouraged Gary and other classmates to donate food for a family in need at Thanksgiving. He often thinks about his teacher's simple request and looks back with gratitude for the value of giving she instilled in him.

Gary coordinates a drive each Fall that allows his neighbors, friends and family an opportunity to make an impact in the lives of hungry Central Texans. Anyone who knows Gary knows his meticulous record keeping and fervent consideration of a potential donor's background and motivations. When speaking about his support over the years and the longevity of the Cliff Over Lake Austin Food & Fund Drive, Gary simply says, "The benefit to society comes when I create the path [to give]."

From the Food Bank team and those who receive food assistance as a result of your support, thank you, Gary.

 Applied Materials has long held the title as the largest contributing Food & Fund Drive to benefit the Food Bank.  How do they make it happen year after year?  They coordinate events that ensure great attendance and a great time.  By focusing on events that primarily raise funds, and by taking advantage of their matching gift program, Applied Materials employees made donations in 2006 resulting in the equivalent of 1.2 million nutritious meals for hungry Central Texans in 2006. 

This doesn't happen overnight.  Applied Materials schedules events throughout the year to encourage staff to participate in fundraising efforts to help end hunger.  They hold many creative food and fundraisers including a softball tournament in the summer and a Food Drive Olympics and Fun Run in the fall.  Varying activities ensure participation across the company, and opening events to the families of staff helps increase participation.

Recently, Applied Materials held a fishing tournament for employees and family members on the Applied Materials campus.  When asked why her company chooses to do such a relaxed and down-to-earth event, Michele Walker-Moak explained, "Applied is always looking for unique fundraising opportunities to support the Food Bank.  We have a beautiful campus with a fully-stocked lake.  Employees look forward to bringing their families to enjoy a morning of low-key fishing."  How often does one get the opportunity to fish on a private pond with friends, family and colleagues and help end hunger all in one day?  Many Applied Material employees look forward to this experience each year because it is family-friendly and conveniently located in a familiar location.  While most employees come out for the leisurely quality time and bonding, some arrive with an intent to win the anticipated annual fishing contest. 

This year, Applied Materials employee, Will Longenecker, reeled in the catch to secure his spot in the winner's seat for the largest and longest fish of the day (a 21-inch bass at 4 pounds, 10 ounces).  When this three-year veteran of the event was asked about his time at the tournament and support of the Food Bank, he mentioned how much he loved attending the event with his wife and daughter and noted his company's focus on community giving: "I am very fortunate to work for a company that is not only the global leader of semi conductor manufacturing equipment but also the best example of how multi-national corporations can better the communities in which they do business."

Feeding the hungry is part of the fun, and is central to Applied Material's focus at these year-round events.  Employees like Will are made aware of the issue of hunger in Central Texas and are committed to supporting their community, in part, because of their company's fervent dedication to the Food Bank's mission. 

Thank you Applied Materials!

NVIDIA's "Virtual" Drive Raises More Meals

Congratulations, NVIDIA, Inc. employees for your first appearance in the Food Bank’s Top 10 Community Events listing. 

What helped this drive jump from just over 32,000 meals in 2005 to more than 150,000 meals in 2006? The drive’s coordinator, with support from the Food Bank, implemented a “virtual” drive. NVIDIA, Inc., a worldwide leader in programmable graphics processor technologies, has 120 Austin employees who were encouraged to make donations using a Food Bank secure web page set up specifically for NVIDIA’s drive. 

This virtual component, which can be advertised through inner-office e-blasts and memos, makes donating a simple and straightforward process. Even better, by focusing on monetary donations, NVIDIA enabled the Food Bank to provide more healthy meals than their previous efforts combined!

Holding a drive to support the Food Bank isn't new to this community-supporting company.  Each year, three teams of NVIDIA employees creatively compete to help end hunger.  In the end, the team with the employee who provides the most meals with his/her donation wins. Darrell Hunt, Software Director for NVIDIA, gave his team a taste of victory!  Although Darrell has been known to personally match his teammates' donations dollar-for-dollar up to a pre-selected amount, this time he used creative and engaging tactics to entice his cohorts into a friendly and profitable round of "Pie the Software Guy." No arm-twisting necessary:  NVIDIA employees lined up to buy a pie to throw at a good-hearted software guy.  This messy and tasty exchange drew crowds and funds to help the Food Bank feed the nearly 45,000 people who access its services each week.  When asked what motivates him, Darrell said, "I feel very fortunate for everything I enjoy in my life, and it is this that allows me to appreciate the responsibility I have to help others."  Darrell isn't alone in this thought.  NVIDIA employees know it takes a team to help end hunger.  Chandra Cheij, the drive coordinator says, "It truly is a team effort."  To raise funds, other teams have matched donations dollar-for-dollar, hosted barbeques, and even auctioned off vacation homes for a weekend.  Chandra reports, "Every year the competition is very close, coming down to the final minutes!"  This team spirit ignites excitement and encourages awareness about hunger.  In the end, the drive brings employees closer to each other, as well as closer to ending hunger.

Like Darrell and the NIVIDIA team, you can make an incredible difference in the lives of hungry Central Texans.  The Food Bank can provide 5 meals with every $1 donated. 

To get started with your own virtual drive, contact Kate Smallwood, Community Events Coordinator, at ksmallwood@austinfoodbank.org.  Imagine what you or your organization can do with just a click of a button!

151,450 meals 

Robert Tamble, a Director at Applied Materials, took a pie in the face in exchange for a $200 donation to the company's Food & Fund Drive.  Robert's involvement in the Applied Materials Food & Fund Drive has evolved over the years.

In 2003, his department sponsored a site-wide horseshoe tournament and fajita cook-out.  Robert personally paid for a local blues musician to play during the tournament.  The fajitas helped to raise quite a bit of monetary donations for the Food Bank, but he decided the horseshoe tournament was too much work.

So, in 2005 he decided to start selling something that everyone was willing purchase......food.  This was no small undertaking in that he needed to cook for 200-300 people each week.  “Most of the food I would prepare a day in advance and reheat at work.  All the food was home-cooked and served by my staff every Friday for 6 weeks (view the menu).  This was a very strategic move because there is no cafeteria readily available for Building 36 occupants.”  Bottom line, the participation, creativity and enthusiasm of Robert and the Applied Materials employees enabled Building 36 to raise over $52k for the Capital Area Food Bank in the past 14 months.  

Get involved! Learn more about coordinating a Food & Fund Drive.

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Food & Fund Drives: Turning Hungry Holidays into Happy Holidays

In the spirit of the recent High Holy Days, three local congregations integrated into their celebrations feeding hungry Central Texans.  Temple Beth Shalom, Congregation Beth Israel and Agudas Achim Jewish Campus encouraged their congregants to donate to the Food Bank.  While their drives were organized independent of one another, the combined result brought food to the tables of thousands of working poor who are accessing food assistance programs. 

Food & Fund Drives vary in what types of donations and how donations are collected.  We encourage you to make it your own!  Congregation Beth Israel lined the walls of their facility with large cardboard containers to collect healthy non-perishable food, Agudas Achim gathered food at services and Temple Beth Shalom distributed envelopes and invited congregants to mail monetary donations directly to the Food Bank.  While Congregation Beth Israel enjoys the symbolism associated with donating food during the High Holy Days and the tangible experience it provides donors, Temple Beth Israel collects monetary donations because of the increased impact the money can make. 

Collectively, these three Food & Fund Drives raised 5,734 pounds of food and $2,264, which allows the Food Bank to provide nearly 16,000 meals for hungry Central Texans.  Their generosity and compassion will nourish the bodies and lives of our neighbors in Austin and the surrounding 21 counties served by the Food Bank.

Hunger knows no season.  Imagine Thanksgiving without the spread of savory food… imagine Thanksgiving without the grand meal, preceded by months without basic nourishment.  We encourage you to coordinate a Food & Fund Drive now and in the Spring or Summer months.  Learn more on the Food & Fund Drive page.  You can turn hungry holidays into happy holidays. 

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In the hills of Austin's beautiful Northwest perimeter, sits Financial Industries Corporation (FIC).  Although seemingly far away from signs of the working poor or food insecurity, Debbie Walker and her co-workers know hunger is often closer to home than one might assume.  Following the business's Food & Fund Drive, Debbie gathered her co-workers to thank them for their food and financial donations and expressed why she was inspired to coordinate a Food & Fund Drive this fall.  She recalled a phone call she received from a close friend a couple of months earlier.  The friend was distraught because her relative was having trouble feeding her children.  Debbie was shocked by this sobering news.  The woman had a job, a modest income, a caring family, and a home… but she and her children couldn't afford this basic necessity? 

That day on the phone, Debbie heard the story the Food Bank hears every day. More people are experiencing food insecurity than ever before.  Due to an increasing cost of living, the working poor and individuals who have never sought help before, are now showing up at the doorsteps of emergency food pantries.  The Food Bank is serving 8,500 more individuals each month than this time last year.  This means the Food Bank's resources are stretched thin.  FIC took action to help lessen this burden.

In an effort to feed hope this fall, FIC donated food and money to help Central Texans who might otherwise go without.  Feed hope they did:  When the final donations were totaled, the team at FIC chuckled at the goal they previously set.  Although nervous they might not reach their goal of 500 (equal to 400 meals) pounds of food, they surpassed their goal and raised food and funds enough for 9,944 meals to feed hungry Central Texans.  FIC discovered a team can, collectively, make an impact which nourishes both the bodies and lives of our community.  On behalf of the Food Bank, thank you Financial Industries Corporation.  

We encourage your workplace to feed hope this fall.  To learn more about coordinating a Food & Fund Drive and how we can support you, please email food drive@austinfoodbank.org or visit the Food & Fund Drive page.

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Grande Communications Food & Fund Drive

High gas prices, grocery costs, and the rising cost-of-living means the need for food assistance is greater now than ever. One in four children and one in five adults in Texas are hungry or food insecure.  For many who often sit down to a full conference table of food at a lunch meeting and return home to a well-stocked refrigerator, this message may be familiar, yet difficult to grasp. 

We encourage you to share your bounty by coordinating a workplace Food & Fund Drive. Although 95% of the food distributed is donated, the Food Bank must pay for the trucking and refrigeration of food. By collecting food and monetary donations, corporate and workplace groups help supplement this cost.

As an example of a successful and rewarding drive, Grande Communications invited employees to raise money during a three-week company-wide competition called "Let's Blow the Lid Off the Beans." Employees from across departments shared a portion of their bounties by holding friendly, cross-departmental competitions between the service technicians, administration and call center employees.  Team members made personal donations and used their creative talents to help raise funds. This year, Grande's Food & Fund Drive committee opted to focus on financial donations because it's easier to lift and transport dollar bills than boxes of food. They also took into consideration the enormous return on their investment: The Food Bank can provide 5 meals for every $1 donated. So, inner-office bake sales, breakfast taco and homemade sausage sales, and the money earned in return for recycling copper wire really paid off. Their drive raised enough money to provide 20,629 meals.

Even without the support of an organizing committee, a small team can still make an impact. Food & Fund Drives most often begin small, all the while creating an important awareness about hunger.  Spansion recently completed its first-ever Food & Fund Drive. Employees were invited to bring food and cash to work, and they collected enough over a week and a half to provide 2,851 meals! While many first-time coordinators say, "I wish we could have done more," they are reminded that there must always be a starting point, and every donation is valuable. Also, workplace Food & Fund Drives show increased participation and success when repeated over the years. As businesses create annual giving opportunities, employees begin to anticipate the Food & Fund Drive. Workplace drives inevitably build unity and a greater sense of purpose for employees. Above all, a Food & Fund Drive enables them to share their bounty with hungry Central Texans.

Get involved! Learn more about coordinating a Food & Fund Drive.

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As a professional in the food industry, Teri Twyeffort, Manager of the HP Austin Café, feels a special connection to the Food Bank's goal of nourishing people.  Sodexho has long been a supporter of America's Second Harvest (A2H), of which the Food Bank is a member.  Although Sodexho gives to A2H through their program called Generous Helpings, Teri wanted to make a difference right here in Central Texas, so she coordinated a Food & Fund Drive to benefit the Food Bank.

As well as collecting food and money, Teri focused her efforts on increasing hunger awareness amongst HP employees – her customers and potential drive donors.  With a Food Bank collection barrel to greet folks at lunchtime, incentives to give in exchange for deals in the café, and emails leading up to the Food & Fund Drive, Teri educated HP employees regarding the increasing need for emergency food assistance.  Teri's use of a hunger awareness campaign combined with her Food & Fund Drive mirrors the Food Bank's goal to both nourish hungry people by providing food as well as educate the public about hunger in our region.  

Teri created awareness about hunger in Central Texas and empowered those around her to do something about it.  She and the customers of the HP Austin Café raised $234 and 335 pounds of non-perishable food, allowing the Food Bank to provide 1,438 meals to Central Texas children, families and the elderly.  Sodexho provides a corporate match to its employees' fundraising activities, bringing the grand total of meals provided through Teri's efforts to 2,876.

Now's the perfect time to hold a workplace Food & Fund Drive like Teri's.  In the summer, those who suffer from hunger and food insecurity often experience increased need.  Higher utility costs affect all families, but can be especially hard on the elderly and those who live on fixed incomes.  Plus, young families who get extra help feeding their children from their school's federal nutrition programs now have to provide more meals at home.  And, be sure to ask if your employer provides matching donations.  Help feed those who are weathering the lines at local food pantries this season. 

Get involved! Learn more about coordinating a Food & Fund Drive.

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In nonprofit fundraising, corporate and individual donors, matching gifts, and sponsored events, contribute to most of the funding that keeps the doors open and the mission met. Sometimes, though, someone else lends a hand and reveals the incredible impact that unexpected donors can make.

J.J. Pickle Elementary, in northeast Austin, educates students from a low-income neighborhood and serves free and reduced-cost lunches to most students. Pickle participates in a Food Bank program called Kids Cafe, which provides students and their younger siblings with a meal at an after-school enrichment program. These kids might otherwise go without food until their next school lunch. For this reason, it was particularly touching to receive a donation from the very children who receive those services.

In April, six determined fourth and fifth graders in the Peer Assistance and Leadership (PALs) program at Pickle organized a food and fund drive with the help of Life Skills teacher Stephanie Whitley. Stephanie’s main goal was to instill a sense of responsibility and awareness in her students, and although the PALs group was not sure what kind of response to expect, when the collection began, they quickly realized something significant was underway. In just one week, the students collected 1,627 pounds of food, allowing the Food Bank to provide 1,301 meals to individuals, families, and children experiencing hunger, food insecurity, and malnutrition. This outpouring of generosity was a valuable and self-validating experience for the children. As the students entered the school with hands full of food, teachers encouraged the effort by using the food and fund drive in their lesson plans. One pre-kindergarten teacher was thrilled when her students counted fifty five cans of food together and with real-world application.

The J.J. Pickle Elementary Food & Fund Drive illustrates the power of giving, no matter who you are or how much you can give. The students were proud of what they could give. Large or small, food and financial gifts make a difference not only in the lives of those who receive them but in the lives of those who give.

Get involved! Learn more about coordinating a Food & Fund Drive.

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Manpower, a training and job placement company, recently held a Food & Fund Drive at its Southwest Division Managers Meeting. Dustin Little, Direct Hire Manager for the company’s Southwest Division, stepped beyond his business’ central purpose when he set a goal to raise 300 pounds of food and $200 -- the equivalent of 1,240 meals for Central Texans in need. How did he make it happen?

Manpower extended an invitation to its 120 meeting participants to donate non-perishable food items and/or funds to the Food Bank. The opportunity to give was advertised in pre-meeting emails and special attention was paid to the drive as it was mentioned throughout the day during meeting. Managers from both local and out-of-state branches attended the meeting held at the Driskill Hotel in downtown Austin, and raised 114 pounds of food and $664 dollars. This donation enables the Food Bank to provide 3,411 meals to Central Texans who suffer from food insecurity and hunger. The response from the participants resulted in a donation which far exceeded Manpower’s goal!

Manpower’s Food & Fund Drive is an example of the tremendous good that can come from businesses and organizations. Organizations both large and small have the potential to be valuable donors. You are encouraged to see your organization’s events and meetings as a means to create similar giving opportunities for employees. Although getting food to those who need it most is the utmost goal, hungry Central Texans will not be the only ones who benefit. The experience of giving food or money to help feed the hungry in our own community enriches the lives and values of your employees and affirms the brand of your organization. 41,000 children under the age of 18 in Travis County alone are confronted with food insecurity and 1 in 5 adults in Texas go without food for intermittent or extended periods of time. We invite you to coordinate a Food & Fund Drive that will feed hungry children and families who need it most, right here at home.

Note: While donating non-perishable food items is a valuable, tangible experience for all ages, especially for kids, the Food Bank can provide so much more with your financial donation. The Food Bank can provide 5 meals with every $1 donated! Consider this when determining the focus of your drive. 

Get involved! Learn more about coordinating a Food & Fund Drive.

Share your story.