For Immediate Release: 5/3/17
Contact: Celia Cole, 512-590-0659 or ccole@feedingtexas.org
Austin - Feeding Texas announced Wednesday a $540,000 grant from Dallas-based entrepreneur and philanthropist, Lyda Hill, for its “Feeding with Impact” initiative, which pairs free produce distribution with evidence-based health interventions in low-income communities across the state.
Feeding with Impact is a public-private partnership with the Texas Department of Agriculture, Feeding Texas, Lyda Hill and Texas farmers. Miss Hill’s grant will support the development of a centralized, optimized infrastructure to rescue and distribute Texas-grown produce that doesn’t make it to market.
The Texas Legislature is also considering increasing funding to support Feeding with Impact. Current state funds offset the costs to farmers of donating their unsellable produce and transporting the product to Texas food banks.
Texas House members voted last month to provide $10 million for the initiative, which is expected to result in the distribution of over 100 million pounds of fresh produce annually by 2018. Members of the House and Senate budget conference committee will determine the final amount for Texas food banks. These Members include Senators Nelson, Hinojosa, Huffman, Schwertner and Kolkhorst; and House Representatives Zerwas, Longoria, Ashby, Davis and Gonzales.
“I believe Feeding with Impact has the potential to become a national model for reducing food waste, improving dietary health and insuring access to healthy food in low-income communities,” said Lyda Hill. “If our state partners can increase their investment, we can truly move the needle on health care costs in Texas.”
“We are grateful to Lyda Hill for her support and hopeful that the Legislature will increase its commitment as well,” said Celia Cole, CEO of Feeding Texas. “These investments will ensure more families have access to healthy food and better nutrition. In the long-run, that means decreased health care costs for Texas and healthier, more productive citizens.”
Feeding Texas is a network of twenty-one food banks that provide hunger relief and other services to needy Texans through partnerships with 3,000 charities across the state. Lyda Hill is committed to investing in organizations that make game-changing advances in nature and science, empower nonprofit organizations, and support important advances in our local communities.
Feeding Texas leads a unified effort for a hunger-free Texas.