South Texas Food Bank Receives $15,000 Grant from ConAgra Foods Foundation for Kids Café Program
1/23/2012 12:00:00 AM by Salo Otero
The South Texas Food Bank announced that the ConAgra Foods Foundation has donated $15,000 to its Kids Café program to help address child hunger in the STFB service area.
The Kids Café program provides school children an after school meal Monday through Friday at 13 Laredo Webb-County sites. The largest Kids Cafes are at the Benavides Boys and Girls Club downtown and the Lamar Bruni Vergara Boys and Girls Club in south Laredo.
“This gift will allow us to purchase beef and chicken for the hot meals our Kids Cafes serve daily ,” said Alfonso Casso Jr., executive director of the South Texas Food Bank. “We applaud ConAgra for their investment in children, who are our future .” Ellie Reyes, South Texas Food Bank Kids Café director, added, “Thank you ConAgra. A meal for any hungry child turns into a big smile. Those smiles are priceless.”
The South Texas Food Bank, a Feeding America affiliate, is located in west Laredo at 1907 Freight at Riverside. The phone number is (956) 726-3120, website www.southtexasfoodbank and on twitter www.twitter.com/SoTxFoodBank and facebook (South Texas Food Bank).
The ConAgra Foods Foundation donated $100,000 to four Feeding America member food banks in Texas after findings from two studies supported by ConAgra Foods made it clear that areas of Texas have extremely high rates of child hunger. While the national average for child hunger is more than 20 percent, the South Texas Food Bank serves an area with much higher than average child food insecurity rates. Webb County has 41.6 percent food insecurity.
Additionally, Feeding America and the Urban League’s joint study found that Latino families are disproportionately under-enrolled in federal programs for children and families struggling with hunger.
“To effectively fight hunger, we need more than passion; we need knowledge and a better understanding of the factors that can lead to hunger and food insecurity,” said Kori Reed, Vice President, Cause and Foundation at ConAgra Foods. “By supporting Feeding America’s child and Latino hunger research, we were able to identify specific areas of need and to invest in programs led by Texas food banks that are poised to help their communities overcome hunger.”
The $100,000 grant brings ConAgra Foods Foundation’s support of Feeding America-led Texas hunger programs to more than $500,000. In partnership with Feeding America and Texas food banks, ConAgra Foods supports programs that are helping alleviate hunger for children and families in Texas, which has the second highest number of food-insecure children in the nation. This latest contribution is in addition to an ongoing five-year, $10 million partnership between Feeding America and ConAgra Foods Foundation.
The newest Texas hunger grants will support four Feeding America member food banks, including the San Antonio Food Bank; Food Bank of the Rio Grande Valley in McAllen; South Texas Food Bank in Laredo; and West Texas Food Bank in Odessa. In San Antonio, ConAgra Foods’ grant will fund a pilot program to help enroll more families in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
“ConAgra Foods has been a wonderful partner in the fight against child hunger,” said Vicki Escarra, Feeding America’s President and CEO. “Their thoughtful investments in Texas display a continued commitment to fighting child hunger. This combination of focused research and willingness to target areas of intense need make ConAgra Foods a valuable partner.”
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