Michael Hetrick, Author at East Texas Food Bank

Texas Food Banks Urge Legislators to Increase Funding for Surplus Ag Grant

The Feeding Texas network, made up of 21 food banks across the state, is calling on state lawmakers to increase funding for the Surplus Agricultural Products Grant today.

With the cost of groceries rising, many Texans are turning to food banks for support. The loss of the increased pandemic SNAP benefits (known as “emergency allotments”) in March will lead to even greater need, with all SNAP households experiencing a minimum reduction of $95 a month in SNAP benefits.

“Texans everywhere are struggling with the rising cost of food, and as a result, more Texans are seeking emergency food from food banks,” said Celia Cole, CEO of Feeding Texas. “More investment in the Surplus Ag Grant will help food banks meet the growing need in their communities.”

“The East Texas Food Bank (ETFB) continues to see a record number of our neighbors needing help and increasing the funding to the Surplus Ag Grant will be critical in providing enough resources to meet our goal of providing 32 million nutritious meals by 2025,” said Dennis Cullinane, ETFB CEO. “During the pandemic in fiscal year 2020, we served 91,500 households and 25 million meals. In fiscal year 2022, we served 117,300 households and over 27 million meals.”

Since 2001, the Surplus Ag Grant has supported a cost-effective strategy to fight hunger in Texas. The program is a partnership between Feeding Texas and the Texas Department of Agriculture.

Food banks use funding from the program to obtain fresh produce that is unsellable due to imperfections or market conditions, and 100% of program funds go to farmers and transportation providers to offset the cost of harvesting, storage, packaging, and freight. Farmers are eligible for a tax deduction for their donation.

“In addition to feeding hungry Texans, the funds provided through the Surplus Ag Grant offset losses for Texas growers and mitigate the impact of food waste on the environment,” Cole said. “The program is a win-win-win for Texas.”

Texas economist Ray Perryman estimates that every $1 invested in the Surplus Ag program yields $3.27 in healthcare and education savings for Texas.

“Smart policy choices and investments like the Surplus Ag Grant can help prevent hunger for today, while boosting our state’s economic competitiveness and resilience over time,” Cole said.

HHSC Announces Federal Approval for Replacement SNAP Benefits Due to Winter Storm

AUSTIN – The Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) today announced it has received federal approval to allow Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients to apply for replacement benefits for food lost or destroyed due to recent severe winter weather by dialing 2-1-1.

“Prolonged localized power outages may have spoiled food for Texas families across our state during last week’s ice storm,” said Governor Greg Abbott. “I thank HHSC for ensuring Texans impacted by this winter weather are able to apply for replacement SNAP benefits so that they can keep fresh, healthy food on the table.”

“We hope that the replacement SNAP benefits will help Texas families who may have been impacted by the recent winter weather storm. These benefits will help Texans replace healthy and nutritious food that was lost due to power outages,” said Texas HHS Access and Eligibility Services Deputy Executive Commissioner Wayne Salter.

SNAP recipients who have had food lost or destroyed due to the winter storm last week need to apply for replacement food benefits for regular SNAP allotments and SNAP emergency allotments. SNAP recipients in the counties below have until Feb. 28, 2023, to request a benefit replacement:

Anderson, Austin, Bandera, Bastrop, Bell, Bexar, Blanco, Brazoria, Brooks, Burleson, Burnet, Caldwell, Cameron, Cherokee, Coke, Collin, Comal, Concho, Coryell, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, Erath, Falls, Fannin, Fort Bend, Franklin, Freestone, Gillespie, Harris, Hays, Henderson, Hidalgo, Hill, Hopkins, Hunt, Irion, Johnson, Kaufman, Kendall, Kerr, Kimble, Lamar, Lee, Leon, Limestone, Llano, Mason, McLennan, Milam, Montgomery, Navarro, Parker, Rains, Red River, Robertson, Rockwall, Smith, Sterling, Tarrant, Titus, Travis, Van Zandt, Waller, Wichita, Williamson, and Wood.

SNAP recipients not living in the listed counties above must request benefit replacement within 10 days of discovering their food was lost or destroyed due to the winter storm.

SNAP clients are encouraged to request their replacement food benefits by dialing 2-1-1 and selecting option 2. Recipients can also download Form H1855 on the HHSC website. Completed forms should be mailed to Texas Health and Human Services; P.O. Box 149027; Austin, TX; 78714-9027, or faxed to 1-877-447-2839. Replacement funds should be placed on Lone Star Cards within two business days of HHSC receiving the request.

SNAP is a federal program administered by HHSC that provides food assistance to approximately 1.6 million eligible, low-income families and individuals in Texas. More information is available at hhs.texas.gov. Texas residents can dial 2-1-1 to learn about programs and services.

East Texas Food Bank to hold special distribution of food to help Smith County residents impacted by winter storm

The East Texas Food Bank will distribute emergency food boxes and meat on Thursday, February 9th, from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. at Green Acres Baptist Church, located at 1607 Troup Highway in Tyler.

Last week’s winter storm caused widespread power outages and damage, with Smith County being part of Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s disaster declaration.
“Many of our neighbors had to throw away all of their refrigerated food after being without power for days and with so many people struggling to make ends meet, we knew we wanted to help,” said Dennis Cullinane, CEO of the East Texas Food Bank. “We are also grateful for our partnership with Green Acres Baptist Church and allowing us to use their facility for our distributions.”

The boxes will contain shelf-stable food including cans of food and personal hygiene items. Meat will also be distributed.

This distribution is open to the public while supplies last. No ID or paperwork is required.

Please enter through the Troup Highway Side of GABC and do not arrive until after 8 a.m. as we will not have staff on site until then to set-up the distribution lines.

Volunteers are needed to help. Please visit our website, EastTexasFoodBank.org and click on Volunteers and mobile pantry and find this event to sign-up.

To find other distribution locations and food pantries throughout our 26-county service area, visit EastTexasFoodBank.org and click “Find Food”.

Dutch Bros. “Dutch Luv” to giveback to ETFB

Dutch Bros. Coffee locations in Tyler will have their annual “Dutch Luv” event on Friday, February 17th. During the event, $1 for every drink sold will go to the East Texas Food Bank.

Dutch Bros. locations in Tyler are located at 3924 Troup Highway, 7920 S. Broadway Ave. and 2157 W. Grande Blvd.

Leslie’s Story and Message

Leslie works full-time at a daycare, but struggles with having enough money to pay bills and put food on the table for her children ages 7, 12 and 14.

Coming to the Deep East Texas Resource Center (DETRC) helps. I also volunteer when I can with my children so we can give back.”

She also spreads the word to other families who are hungry in Lufkin. “I tell everyone, especially other single mothers who didn’t know about [DETRC] to come over here and get food… like mangoes, peaches, and bananas.”

Leslie is also grateful that the DETRC offers other wrap-around services such as benefits assistance. Her children still talk about the time they received a pillowcase and blanket from DETRC and how much that meant to them. Plus, she likes that DETRC offers the pantry on Saturdays as she works 8-5:30 p.m., Monday- Friday, and unable to come on weekdays to receive food.

She wants people to know how much families like her appreciate the East Texas Food Bank’s branch, DETRC, in Lufkin. “Thank you for helping to donate. It really helps single mothers like me.”

Keep an eye out for more neighbor stories as we open branches in Longview and Texarkana later this year.