Category: News Room

Tyler Junior League Supports East TX Foodbank Summer Backpack Program

About 1 in 5 Adults in East Texas are deemed “food insecure”.  That means they simply don’t have enough to eat.  And that number is even higher for children.

Thankfully there are school lunch programs during the year to at least provide one good nutritious meal during the week while the kids are in school.  But when the summer break comes and school isn’t in session, many children can go hungry.
(Read and listen to this story from Redriverradio.org)

East Texas Food Bank, Junior League of Tyler partner for annual Summer Backpack Program

Maudesta Moore said she had spent most of her summer watching the shows her grandbabies wanted to watch when she decided to turn on the morning news and saw that the East Texas Food Bank would be kicking off its annual Summer Backpack Program.

Moore said she was planning to take them to Bergfeld Park anyway, so she decided to make a day of it and skip a trip to McDonald’s after. With three granddaughters and one great-granddaughter in tow, she headed to Bergfeld Park to let the children play while she learned more about the program.
(Read more from Tyler Paper)

East Texas Food Bank kicks off summer backpack program

For the fifth year, kids in Tyler will have food for the weekends throughout the summer thanks to a summer backpack program.

While the East Texas Food Bank’s Summer Feeding Program covers kids Monday through Friday, their annual backpack program provides kids with food for the weekend.

“You can imagine, obviously you’re still hungry during the weekend, they’re really filling that meal gap for a lot of these kids by providing that food,” said Tim Butler, the program services director at East Texas Food Bank.
(Read and watch this story from KLTV)

ETFB announces $41,500 grant from Morgan Stanley to expand Fresh Produce Program

The East Texas Food Bank today announced a new grant from the Morgan Stanley Foundation to support the food bank’s fresh produce program. The funds will be used to increase the food bank’s ability to access, transport and store fresh produce and provide fruits and vegetables for families in need. The food bank is one of six food banks that received funding from Morgan Stanley as part of a $250,000 gift to Feeding America® member food banks to help develop, launch, expand and sustain fresh produce programs.
(Read more here)

KETK celebrates Founder’s Day by giving back to East Texas

Nexstar Media Group, the parent company of KETK and Fox51, celebrated its 23rd birthday Monday.

We call it Founder’s Day. But rather than celebrating with cake and ice cream and getting presents, we give the gifts by donating time to our community.

For years, we have donated our time to East Texas Food Bank, an organization doing all it can to fight the scourge of hunger in East Texas. And we did so again this year. Employees of KETK and Fox51 – some known to you from your TV screens, some who toil behind the scenes to bring those newscasts to you – spent their morning packaging the food that will be distributed to those of our neighbors who struggle to feed their families.
(Read more from KETK)