ETFB Summer Food Program provides over 16,000 meals in June

The East Texas Food Bank Summer Food Program has wrapped up its first month of providing meals to children at 24 sites across our service area. Over 6,300 breakfasts and over 9,800 lunches have been served so far to help kids stay fueled up for summer fun.

The Summer Food Program partners with community locations to provide free meals to students who usually rely on free and reduced meal programs through their school. The program makes sure that children won’t miss meals throughout the summer and get the nourishment they need to thrive until school resumes. 

Christina Villanueva, Director of Summer Programs at THE REC in Whitehouse, says the Sumer Food Program is important to the children at her location. THE REC has been a summer food site since 2018.

“We rely on it to be honest,” she said. “If it wasn’t available, it would probably be a little bit of a struggle trying to get all these kids their food.”

Villanueva says THE REC is serving about 50 children per meal per day, a number that has grown this year.

“Our numbers dropped significantly due to COVID last year,” she said. “While we haven’t quite doubled, we are definitely in a better standing then where we were last year.”

The nutritious meals provided during the Summer Food Program consist of whole-grain cereals, sandwiches, wraps, fruits and milk.

“The fresh fruit is a big hit,” Villanueva said. “The kids are always wanting the apples!”

Villanueva said she knows many families struggled with the loss of free and reduced lunches during the school year due to COVID.

“To be able to continue offering this program again this summer, it’s been helpful for families who may still be having that financial struggle,” she said. “We are able to provide all nutritious meals to them. It’s been good.”

To learn more about the East Texas Food Bank Summer Food Program or to find a feeding site near you, click here.

Bell Elementary makes surprise gift during East Texas Giving Day

During East Texas Giving Day in April, a record 2.8 million dollars was raised for nonprofit organizations in East Texas. Thanks to our generous donors and matching funds, the East Texas Food Bank was able to raise a remarkable $63,366 dollars to help with our mission of fighting hunger and feeding hope. Those funds  will help provide over 50,000 meals to the families we help.

One gift, however, came as an unexpected surprise.

Bell Elementary Principal Tamara Johnson gave us a call to say the school wanted to donate to the East Texas Food Bank for East Texas Giving Day. Bell Elementary is in Tyler Independent School District.

“Every year before COVID, our campus would host a Jingle Bell Run to raise money to benefit a student who may have been in a health crisis,” Johnson said. “Because of COVID this year, we were not able to go through the process like we normally would for one of our students.”

It was decided the funds would go to the food bank instead.

“The food bank feeds over 100 students here each Friday through the BackPack Program,” Johnson said. “We thought this would still benefit our students and our community with the donation.”

The BackPack Program was created to fill the meal gap on the weekends and extended breaks for students that rely on free and reduced meal programs through school. Staff and faculty members at school campuses, such as Bell, choose which children join the program, based on an assessment of need. On Fridays, participating children each receive a backpack filled with nutritious, kid-friendly items such as fruit, juice, cereal bars and shelf-stable milk to help last them until Monday morning, when school meal programs resume.

The Bell donation to the food bank totaled $10,375.86.

“We were absolutely thrilled to give to the food bank,” Johnson said. “We see your efforts in the community and we wanted to have a greater impact.”

“This gift from Bell Elementary will ensure that the children, families and seniors we serve have access to the nutritious food they need to thrive,” said East Texas Food Bank CEO Dennis Cullinane. “We are so grateful to the staff, students and parents for thinking of us during this day of community giving.”

“Fight Hunger. Spark Change.” with Walmart, Sam’s Club

One in five East Texans, including one in three children, are facing hunger this year due to the ongoing economic fallout from COVID-19. Neighbors in our community are struggling to put food on the table – simply facing this difficult reality for the first time in their lives.

That is why Walmart and Sam’s Club are supporting the Feeding America nationwide network of food banks, including the East Texas Food Bank, through the Fight Hunger. Spark Change. campaign. Now in its eighth year, the campaign has been a way for Walmart and Sam’s Club to partner with suppliers, customers, and members to help provide food to people in need. In fact, last year over 870,000 additional meals were provided to families through the East Texas Food Bank thanks to this campaign!

Fight Hunger. Spark Change.  runs in stores and online from April 5 – May 3, 2021. There are four easy ways for customers and members to participate:

• Make a donation at check-out in stores and clubs.
• Round-up your purchases at check-out on Walmart.com and the Walmart app.
• Donate at www.FeedingAmerica.org/Walmart or www.FeedingAmerica.org/SamsClub.
• For every participating product purchased in store or online at Walmart.com or SamsClub.com, the supplier will donate the monetary equivalent of at least one meal ($.10) on behalf at Walmart and five meals ($.50) at Sam’s Club, up to applicable limits.

Funds raised through Walmart and Sam’s Club stores in our service area will directly benefit the East Texas Food Bank.

Participating suppliers include: Abbott, Bodyarmor, Bush Brothers & Company, Campbell Soup Company, Clif Bar & Company, Ferrera Candy Company, General Mills, Great Value, Iovate Health Sciences, J.M. Smucker, Kellogg’s, Keurig/Mott’s, Kitu Coffee, Kraft Heinz, Materne North America, Mighty Spark, Monster Energy, PEPSICO, Post Consumer Brands, Purina, Simply Good Foods, Strong Roots, The Coca-Cola Company, The Clorox Company, This Saves Lives, Unilever and United States Nutrition.

Deep East Texas Resource Center opens to provide services in Lufkin

The East Texas Food Bank has officially opened its newest program, the Deep East Texas Resource Center, at 105 Lofton St. Lufkin, TX 75904. The goal of DETRC is to augment the good work done by Lufkin’s current food pantries and provide a one-stop-shop of wraparound services with a food pantry, benefits assistance and other support services for families in deep East Texas.

The food pantry will operate Tuesday through Thursday from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. and on Friday from 10:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Families don’t have to live in Lufkin to visit the pantry. (**NEW HOURS AS OF 11/1/2024**)

The food pantry is meant to serve households at or below the Emergency Food Assistance Program income guidelines. Families that are experiencing a crisis may also qualify for short-term food assistance.

No identification or paperwork is required to receive assistance. Clients will be asked for a verbal declaration of their full name, address, number of people in the household, date of birth and monthly income.

There are two COVID-safe options to receive food from the pantry.

1. CURBSIDE– To limit the amount of contact with volunteers and food pantry staff, clients can park in the parking lot. They will be greeted by a volunteer, who will obtain the following information: Full name, address, number of people in the household, date of birth, and monthly income. Once this is complete, the volunteer will load food into their vehicle.
2. INSIDE– For clients that would like to choose their food, they can shop inside. Clients will be greeted at the reception desk, where a volunteer will take their temperature and provide them with a mask if needed. Masks will be required to receive food inside. If the temperature is in a safe range, clients will be asked their full name, address, number of people in the household, date of birth and monthly income. After that, they’ll sit in the waiting area for a short time before walking through our food pantry to select food from a range of shelf-stable items, meat, and fresh produce. Grocery carts will be available.

In addition to the food pantry, the DETRC will host nutrition education classes, provide on-site and virtual benefits assistance and provide access to other services such as Texas Workforce Commission and WIC. A list of all programs and services can be found at www.detrc.org.

DETRC was able to open with funding from a grant provided by the T.L.L. Temple Foundation.

If you would like to support DETRC, you can volunteer and donate.