It seems like at some point every one wonders what they would do if they won the lottery or what they would do if they had a millions dollars. Today, the St. David’s Foundation showed us what they would do with a million dollars: help the hungry families in Central Texas.
The foundation’s Chief Executive Officer Earl Maxwell presented the Capital Area Food Bank of Texas with a check for a million dollars that will go towards our $21.5 million Capital Campaign for a new distribution facility, which is double the size of the current warehouse and is capable of distributing up to 60 million pounds of food per year. The St. David’s Foundation collaborates with more than 60 non-profit partners to help support healthy initiatives regionally, and today we are grateful for their gift that will help expand all of our services. Today, the families in Central Texas received an amazing gift. Today, we are a little closer to help end hunger.
The percentage of Central Texans who are hungry or at risk of hunger is growing at nearly double the growth rate of the overall population. The new 135,000 square foot facility will allow us to serve the growing population in Central Texas. The distribution center will have double the warehouse space for shelf-stable foods, five times the refrigeration and freezer capacity, a commercial production kitchen to cook meals and freeze produce that will reduce food waste, and other improvements. Learn more about the new facility here.
In addition to the generous gift, the foundation also donated $101,000 to help expand our Healthy Option Program for the Elderly, or HOPE. The program’s mission is to reduce hunger among low-income seniors by providing them with free monthly distributions of healthy, shelf-stable foods. Each month, HOPE clients receive a 15- to 20-pound bag of non-perishable groceries as nutritious additions to their existing diets.
We cannot thank the foundation enough for their generous gift. We are that much closer to completing the campaign, but it’s still not over. The J.E. and L.E. Mabee Foundation issued a $500,000 Challenge Grant to raise the remaining funds. Because of this generous donation, we have just $120,000 left to meet the Mabee Challenge. We still need your help. Please help end hunger today.
