For families who are facing hunger, every fruit, every loaf of bread and every vegetable makes a difference. For one in six Central Texans and one in four children who are food insecure, the difference is feeling hunger pangs at night to having a full-stomach and being able to ace that test in the morning.
With the help of our retail partners, food manufacturers and local farms, the Food Bank is able to get food in the hands of families who need it most.
Last year, the Food Bank rescued more than 18.5 million pounds of nutritious food that would have otherwise ended up in a landfill.
This would not be possible without donors like Sprouts Farmers Market. The retailer is committed to a Zero Food Waste policy in their Austin stores and across more than 250 stores nationwide, Sprouts Sustainability Specialist Justin Kacer, said. Last year, Sprouts donated more than 14 million pounds of fresh food to hunger relief agencies through their Food Rescue Program.
“Sprouts recognizes that in the U.S. 40 percent of all food grown is wasted,” Justin said. “We feel it is our responsibility that all the resources that go into getting food from farm to store including the soil, water, packaging and transportation, does not get wasted when a product cannot be sold.”
The Food Bank received more than 64,500 pounds of food last year from their Austin stores. Of that, more than 17,000 pounds was fresh produce.
Thanks to their donations we are able to continue supporting our programs like Fresh Food For Families (FFFF), which provides monthly distributions of fresh produce to families in need. For many of our clients like Cynthia, 65, who is on a fixed income and suffers from health problems, our distribution sites are their only source of fresh produce.
“I come because I am on a fixed income; I just get a small amount of money every month and I don’t really have money left over to buy my produce,” Cynthia said. “Today I got potatoes, even a little bag of potatoes; sometimes I can’t even afford that.”
Produce donations from Sprouts allows clients to eat fresh, natural and organic food that they would otherwise not be able to afford.
For Cynthia, that means she gets to make vegetable soups from the vegetables she receives at our FFFF site at the Round Rock Service Center. The produce will help her get through the month and allow her to “keep her school girl figure,” she said laughing.
Sprouts’ Food Rescue Program is only part of their initiatives to help individuals like Cynthia. On Wednesday, their Bag Hunger and Take Care Holiday Food Drive kicks off. Through the end of December, Sprout shoppers will be able purchase “Grab n’ Give” bags filled with healthy food items that will benefit the Food Bank.
Without the help from partners like Sprouts, who continue to look for way to support families, the Food Bank wouldn’t be able to help the 46,000 individuals who rely on our services each week.
