6 out of 10 Texas Adults are Obese or Overweight, Epidemic Linked to Food Insecurity

KCEN Special Report - The Link Between Food Insecurity and Obesity:

KWTX Report - 6 billion dollars unused in fight against childhood hunger

[External link] KWTX reports on childhood hunger in Texas, the programs used to combat it, and the untaped resources left on the table (and visits the Texas Hunger Initiative).  Watch the story here.

The Call to Serve the Hungry

In the video below Jeremy Everett, executive director of the Texas Hunger Initiative talks about the Christian call to serve and his experience in combatting poverty and hunger during a homily at Baylor chapel.

Food Stamped Screening - THI Lecture Series

The Texas Hunger Initiative will host a screening of "Food Stamped" a film that documents one family's attempt to eat healthy and survive on a food stamp budget.  The screening will take place on Thursday, September 29th at noon at the Baylor School of Social Work.  A panel discussion with Jessica Davila and Sonia White from CitySquare, a poverty focused non-profit in Dallas, will follow.  The event is open to all interested community members.

Increasing School Breakfast in Texas - A VISTA Story

By Mary Agnew - AmericCorps VISTA 

(originally posted on the Food Nutrition Services section of the USDA website) Growing up in a middle-class household, free and reduced lunch was not part of my vocabulary. Not once did I worry about the availability of my next meal. As an adult, I have joined the AmeriCorps VISTA Anti-Hunger Corps to gain experience in the field of nutrition education in order to reach my goal of becoming a registered dietitian. I had no idea that working at the Texas Hunger Initiative at Baylor University would lead to such an eye-opening experience. During my college years I did volunteer work sporadically feeding the homeless at a local church. The face of hunger to me was a disheveled person in tattered clothes sleeping on a city bus stop bench. Now, the face of hunger could be the 9-year-old at the elementary school down the street who relies on school meals as his sole source of nutrition. He comes to school Monday lethargic, falls asleep in class and continually asks his teacher “How much longer till lunch?” This is why I feel that school nutrition programs are so vital to our society.

Mary Agnew (left) and Lisa Losasso (Dairy MAX) at a breakfast event at Connally ISD in Waco, Texas, where they talked about why breakfast in the classroom is so important.

Of all the children who qualify for free and reduced lunch in Texas, just over half participate in school breakfast. The goal for my VISTA year is to increase access to school breakfast so that every child in Texas starts the day with food in their belly. The Breakfast in the Classroom program is my main focus, and the program is gaining momentum across the Nation. I developed a Breakfast in the Classroom toolkit and teamed up with Dairy MAX and the USDA to spread the good word about the breakfast program that will bring breakfast participation rates close to 100% while providing kids with the nutrition they need to succeed during the school day. Connally Primary and Elementary school are starting Breakfast in the Classroom August 22, which is the first day of school out here. They are going to do the "Grab and Go" method!"

DairyMax and Texas Hunger Initiative present check to Connally ISD for Breakfast in the Classroom

Lisa Losasso (DairyMax) and Mary Agnew (Texas Hunger Initiative) present a check to Connally ISD

        At the Connally ISD school board meeting on September 19th, 2011 DairyMax and the Texas Hunger Initiative (THI) presented a check to assist the costs of running the Breakfast in the Classroom program.  The funds will be used to cover the costs of things like coolers, serving tools, and cleaning supplies.

Connally ISD rolled out the Breakfast in the Classroom program in their primary and elementary schools for the first time in their district this school year.  DairyMax and THI have been working with the district since May, meeting with faculty and staff, presenting the program, running through logistics, and serving as a knowledge base for the program.

Currently only 54% of eligible Texas students eat the free breakfast offered at schools.  Breakfast in the classroom aims to increase breakfast participation to students in need.

Due to Wildfire Disaster SNAP Benefits can be use to purchase hot, prepared foods in Bastrop

SPECIAL DISASTER RULES FOR ACCEPTING SUPPLEMENTAL NUTRITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM EBT BENEFITS FOR HOT FOOD PURCHASES

Effective immediately, retail food stores licensed by the Food and Nutrition Service to accept SNAP benefits in the following county within Texas under the Presidential Declaration for Individual Assistance can accept SNAP benefits in exchange for HOT foods: Bastrop

These special rules are in effect through October 31, 2011.

If hot foods are purchased with EBT benefits from September 14, 2011, through October 31, 2011, the purchases are NOT subject to sales tax, as the hot foods are considered SNAP eligible.

We encourage all SNAP authorized retail food stores in the above area listed above to post a special notice in the store letting SNAP customers know that they can use their SNAP EBT card to purchase hot foods during this period.

Thank you for helping us in aiding the survivors of this disaster.