Photo courtesy of the Hays County Food Bank
Hays County Food Bank joins call to reverse recent cuts to state food bank funding
The Hays County Food Bank joined a statewide coalition of advocates Wednesday calling for the reversal of funding cuts to the state food bank.
The program under consideration — the Surplus Agricultural Products Grant — allows food banks to procure fresh produce from Texas farmers that would otherwise go to waste. The grant authorizes farmers to reduce food waste by selling imperfect but good produce at a lower cost that would otherwise be lost. Food banks are able to receive this produce to give to Texas families in need. According to the Hays County Food Bank, the proposed cuts, “will reduce food distribution to hungry Texans by nearly 20 million pounds.”
“Hays County Food Bank is passionate about providing nutritious food. At each distribution, our goal is to make at least 1/3 of each offering be fresh produce,” said Eleanor Owen-Oshan, Hays County Food Bank executive director. “In 2020, we met that goal because of the produce we received through the help of this grant. Reducing our ability to procure fresh produce greatly diminishes the healthy foods we can hand out, thereby possibly impacting our clients health.”
The Surplus Agricultural Products Grant has supported a cost-effective strategy to fight hunger, improve health, and reduce food waste in Texas since 2001.
“With more Texans at risk of hunger than ever before, this is not the time to be cutting a critical source of healthy, fresh produce for our community,” said Celia Cole, CEO of Feeding Texas, the statewide network of food banks.
According to the Hays County Food Bank, food insecurity in Texas jumped from 13% to 29% with COVID-19’s arrival. Access to healthy food is a key social determinant of health. Research shows that food insecurity leads to diet-related illness, and is linked to many adverse health effects, the food bank said.
Wednesday marked a call-to-action day against the proposed cuts. Visit haysfoodbank.org and scroll to “Stop the Cut” on the homepage to learn more.
