Category: News Room

Asian vegetables grown during trial at local Texas A&M AgriLife facility donated to East Texas Food Bank

The future of local farmers markets and produce sections could include a lot more bok choy, red mustard greens and other Asian vegetables.

Last month it was announced that the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service have teamed up for a yearlong trial to examine the feasibility and possible benefits of growing Asian vegetables in Texas. The trial is being held at four AgriLife facilities across the state.
(Read more from Tyler Morning Telegraph)

Annual Charlie Brown Thanksgiving benefits East Texas Food Bank

It’s time for the ninth annual “A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving” benefiting the East Texas Food Bank.  The event will take place at Bergfeld Park Amphitheatre in Tyler, on Friday, November 9th at 5:30 pm.  The public is asked to bring plastic jars of peanut butter to donate to the East Texas Food Bank.  A special presentation of A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving will begin at 6:00pm
(Read More)

East Texas schools tackle childhood hunger through backpack programs

Sabine ISD volunteer Misty Gee believes area school districts’ backpack programs help build relationships between families and schools.
“(Families) know that someone is looking out for them,” she said.

Districts, which rely on donations of money, food and more to operate the programs, are seeking community support as they begin to fill backpacks with food and other essential items for students to take home.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, food insecurity is “the limited or uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate and safe foods or limited or uncertain ability to acquire acceptable foods in socially acceptable ways.” More than 25 percent of children living in Gregg, Harrison, Rusk and Upshur counties live with food insecurity, according to the national nonprofit group Feeding America.
(Read more from Longview News Journal)

Hundreds of students give back during Tyler high school’s ‘Community Service Day’

Hundreds of students from Grace Community High School spent Thursday packing lunches, cleaning yards, and fulfilling a variety of other needs as part of the school’s yearly Community Service Day.

Every year, Grace students are divided into groups and sent to help nonprofits in whatever means possible.

“I see there are lots of needs that need to be met in our community,” said Sarabeth Wallace, junior and Lifegroup leader at GCHS. “It just feels good to be part of something that’s so important and is such a need here in Tyler.”
(Read more from KLTV 7)

SFA community nutrition students to lead Cooking Matters program

Representatives from the East Texas Food Bank in Tyler recently visited Stephen F. Austin State University to kick off a six-week Cooking Matters program in Nacogdoches.

This is the fourth year SFA’s School of Human Sciences has partnered with the food bank to provide this informative and interactive program to the community. Justin Pelham, food, nutrition and dietetics clinical instructor at SFA, is using this program as a class project to provide an opportunity for students to showcase their skills in a real-world setting.

“My intention for the SFA community nutrition course is providing real-world application to our students by plugging them in to relevant outreach events in East Texas,” Pelham said. “These opportunities enhance each student’s learning experience while working with underserved populations in our community, thus making a significant impact in the student’s lives well past their undergraduate years at SFA.”
(Read more from SFASU)