Sustainable Food Center

We walk our local food talk. Since March, SFC has purchased over 800 pounds of local fruits and vegetables for The Happy Kitchen / La Cocina Alegre® (THK / LCA®) cooking classes. That means $3,800 went directly to local farmers to support their livelihoods and increase community access to nutrient dense produce. After each THK / LCA® class, participants take home a bag of FREE groceries to cook the week’s recipe at home. So far, we’ve filled 643 take-home grocery bags with locally grown produce for Central Texas cooking and nutrition class participants! Thanks to Central Texas farmers Green Gate Farms , Engel Farms , Sun and Moon Farm, Pedernales River Farm, Buena Tierra, Barton Springs Mill, Eden East Austin , Simple Promise Farms, Hot Spell Farm, Steelbow Farm, Farmshare Austin , and Olson Family Farm for supplying produce to make THK / LCAⓇ classes a delicious and nutritious experience. This initiative from THK / LCAⓇ is led by local food champions and SFC staff members Ailisha Marcharia, Central Texas Education Coordinator, and Lis Stumpf, Central Texas Food Access Associate. If you are a local producer interested in selling produce to our classes please contact Ailisha at amacharia@sustainablefoodcenter.org. 📷Claudia chopping Steelbow Farm cantaloupe #FarmFresh #JustPicked #OffTheVine #LocalFood #LocalFruit #LocalVeggies #TheHappyKitchen #LaCocinaAlegre #CookingClass #Nutrition #NutritionEducation #FoodAccess

From weather to policy, many factors outside farmers’ control impact their livelihood. Navigating agricultural systems can be riskier for underserved producers, a @usdagov category for groups including BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) producers and women farmers and ranchers who historically didn’t have equal access to land or funding.  For BIPOC producers, centuries of discrimination limited the accumulation of land and generational wealth compared to white farmers, making land and equipment more difficult to access according to the Institute for Policy Studies @ips_dc. Historically limited to the role of “farmer’s wife”, women in agriculture continue to experience gender-based pay discrimination, sexual harassment, and threats to reproductive and maternal rights according to @splcenter. It is essential to provide tailored support to these groups of underserved producers to build a just and inclusive food system where people and the environment thrive. Read more about why SFC is transforming the food system to support underserved producers: https://bit.ly/4bUQAOe #WomenInAg #BIPOCFarmer #BIPOC #BlackFarmer #TexasFarm #USDA #SupportYourLocalFarmer

Peer Facilitator Spotlight: Candyce Rusk Cooking After Cancer facilitator The Happy Kitchen / La Cocina Alegre ® (THK / LCA ®) courses are first and foremost community spaces where class participants and class facilitators are peers who have experiences in common. “How I got involved was in 2010, I was diagnosed with breast cancer, and I took the Cooking After Cancer class during chemo,” Candyce said. After completing the course, Candyce agreed to share her witty and compassionate personality with others in the community recovering from cancer as a Cooking After Cancer facilitator. Thanks for 13 years of sharing cooking and nutrition knowledge, Candyce! THK / LCA ® is our longest-running program with over 25 years of providing free, bilingual cooking and nutrition education to Texas communities. We’re excited to continue and expand classes designed to manage chronic conditions like Cooking with Diabetes and Cooking After Cancer with support from Humana Foundation #TheHappyKitchen #LaCocinaAlegre #Cooking #Nutrition #NutritionEducation #CookingAfterCancer #Remission #FoodIsMedicine

Celebrating Texas Health Resources’ TWELFTH Double Up Food Bucks Texas Site! Dallas shoppers with SNAP can now DOUBLE their benefits at Foodland (8411 Lake June Rd.) to buy MORE fresh fruits and veggies. Over the last four years, our regional partner Texas Health Resources Texas Health Resources has been instrumental in expanding Double Up Texas as the lead partner in North Texas.  “In our first year of Double Up Food Bucks, we had 165 transactions and provided more than $2,600 in benefits,” said Matt Dufrene, vice president of Texas Health. “Four years later we have seen more than 85,000 transactions and nearly $600,000 in benefits utilized. That means more people can afford to put fresh fruits and vegetables on the table and provide healthy nutritious meals for their families.” Double Up Texas makes the food system more equitable by expanding access to high-quality, nutritious produce and more sustainable by supporting local, small-scale farmers through increased produce sales. Thank you Texas Health Resources and American Heart Association for championing the expansion of Double Up Texas! Using SNAP benefits? Call SFC’s  bilingual (ENG/SPAN) Help Desk at (512) 730-1807 for questions about using Double Up Texas. #DoubleUpFoodBucksTexas #DoubleUpTexas #FoodAccess #LocalFood #Community #Equity #SNAP #NorthTexas #TexasHealthResources #TexasHealth #AmericanHeartAssociation

We're so grateful for Legacy Collective's partnership and investments in our local food system!

Are you passionate about food, community, and the environment? We’re hiring! Join Sustainable Food Center’s (SFC) growing team as a Development Manager. This is a full-time, hybrid / remote position based in Austin. The Development Manager is responsible for leading SFC’s yearly annual fund campaigns and events, individual donor management, and stewardship. You will work closely with other Development team members and the Communications team to strategize and execute giving and event campaigns. Join us on our journey transforming the food system through expanded access to local, nutritious food and supporting small-scale farm viability. Read the full job description and application instructions: https://lnkd.in/g_D8YCCZ #Development #NonProfitDevelopment #TransformTheFoodSystem #SustainableFoodCenter #WereHiring #JobOpportunity #NonProfitLeadership

We're hiring! Join Sustainable Food Center and our growing Development & Communications team as a Development Manager.

🔔 Austin Funding Opportunity 🔔 Are you working to address issues related to food, climate change, or resilience? Discover how a Food and Climate Equity (FACE) Grant can help YOU lead transformative change. Get $3K for your community! The City of Austin, Office of Sustainability and Office of Resilience started the Food and Climate Equity (FACE) Grants program to support a more just and resilient Austin by providing direct funding for community-led solutions that enable transformative change in the areas of food, climate, and resilience. The program aims to uplift the experience of those most impacted by systemic and structural inequities, eliminate disparities in health outcomes, and improve quality of life for all. Apply by July 18 at AustinTexas.gov/FACE ¿Está trabajando para abordar cuestiones relacionadas con la alimentación, el cambio climático o la resiliencia? Descubra cómo una Subvención para la Equidad Alimentaria y Climática (FACE por sus siglas en inglés) puede ayudarle a liderar un cambio transformador. ¡Obtenga $3K para su comunidad! Aplicar antes del 18 de julio: AustinTexas.gov/FACE 

#MissionMoment: Devon’s Inspiring Journey from Farmers’ Market Crew Member to Full-Time Staff and Young Farmer. At Sustainable Food Center (SFC), we believe in building deep connections with our community to drive and inform our mission. So it's not surprising that many of our team members come from the farm and food community. Meet Devon Sisneros, our Farmers’ Market Coordinator. Devon’s  journey with SFC began over four years ago as a part-time farmers’ market crew member. In the last year, Devon was promoted to full-time Farmers’ Market Coordinator, started Sun and Moon Farm with her partner AND became an SFC Farmers Market Sunset Valley vendor! She brings her real-life experience to the table to help shape SFC’s mission and vision. We are grateful for Devon and proud to support young and beginning Texas farmers  as we work towards a food system where people and the environment thrive. #FarmersMarket #TexasFarm #TexasAgriculture #CentralTexasYoungFarmers #NationalYoungFarmers #TexasFood #LocalFood

Community is a two way street at Sustainable Food Center (SFC). We learn about solutions to food insecurity and nutrition access from communities across Texas, and we are excited to share how our work positively impacted Texas communities in return in 2023. Our Help Desk provides resources to take home more nutritious fruits and veggies. In 2023, the Help Desk: - Provided food and nutrition support to 1,613 callers, a 48% increase from 2022! - Accepted calls from 7 out of 10 Texas regions The dedicated work of the Help Desk promotoras (advocates) also helped even more community members participate in Double Up Food Bucks Texas and The Happy Kitchen / La Cocina AlegreⓇ. In 2023: - 34,258 Texans doubled their SNAP benefits through #DoubleUpFoodBucksTexas, a 57% increase from 2022! - 403 Texans participated in free, bilingual cooking and nutrition education through The Happy Kitchen / La Cocina AlegreⓇ . Read the full 2023 Impact Report: https://bit.ly/44zdnx3 #SustainableFoodCenter #TheHappyKitchen #LaCocinaAlegre #CookingEducation #NutritionEducation #HelpDesk #SNAP #WIC #FoodAccess #EatLocal #LocalFood #TexasFood