Michael Hetrick, Author at East Texas Food Bank

East Texas Food Bank to hold special distribution of food to help Smith County residents impacted by winter storm

The East Texas Food Bank will distribute emergency food boxes and meat on Thursday, February 9th, from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. at Green Acres Baptist Church, located at 1607 Troup Highway in Tyler.

Last week’s winter storm caused widespread power outages and damage, with Smith County being part of Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s disaster declaration.
“Many of our neighbors had to throw away all of their refrigerated food after being without power for days and with so many people struggling to make ends meet, we knew we wanted to help,” said Dennis Cullinane, CEO of the East Texas Food Bank. “We are also grateful for our partnership with Green Acres Baptist Church and allowing us to use their facility for our distributions.”

The boxes will contain shelf-stable food including cans of food and personal hygiene items. Meat will also be distributed.

This distribution is open to the public while supplies last. No ID or paperwork is required.

Please enter through the Troup Highway Side of GABC and do not arrive until after 8 a.m. as we will not have staff on site until then to set-up the distribution lines.

Volunteers are needed to help. Please visit our website, EastTexasFoodBank.org and click on Volunteers and mobile pantry and find this event to sign-up.

To find other distribution locations and food pantries throughout our 26-county service area, visit EastTexasFoodBank.org and click “Find Food”.

Dutch Bros. “Dutch Luv” to giveback to ETFB

Dutch Bros. Coffee locations in Tyler will have their annual “Dutch Luv” event on Friday, February 17th. During the event, $1 for every drink sold will go to the East Texas Food Bank.

Dutch Bros. locations in Tyler are located at 3924 Troup Highway, 7920 S. Broadway Ave. and 2157 W. Grande Blvd.

Leslie’s Story and Message

Leslie works full-time at a daycare, but struggles with having enough money to pay bills and put food on the table for her children ages 7, 12 and 14.

Coming to the Deep East Texas Resource Center (DETRC) helps. I also volunteer when I can with my children so we can give back.”

She also spreads the word to other families who are hungry in Lufkin. “I tell everyone, especially other single mothers who didn’t know about [DETRC] to come over here and get food… like mangoes, peaches, and bananas.”

Leslie is also grateful that the DETRC offers other wrap-around services such as benefits assistance. Her children still talk about the time they received a pillowcase and blanket from DETRC and how much that meant to them. Plus, she likes that DETRC offers the pantry on Saturdays as she works 8-5:30 p.m., Monday- Friday, and unable to come on weekdays to receive food.

She wants people to know how much families like her appreciate the East Texas Food Bank’s branch, DETRC, in Lufkin. “Thank you for helping to donate. It really helps single mothers like me.”

Keep an eye out for more neighbor stories as we open branches in Longview and Texarkana later this year.

Reach Your Nutrition Goals

Start with small changes

Instead of a diet overhaul, make small changes to what you eat and drink that will work for you now and in the future.

Take one day at a time

Sometimes things don’t go as planned, even with the best of intentions. If you miss one day or one milestone for your goal, don’t give up!

Be active your way

Pick activities you enjoy! If you focus on having fun or learning a new skill that interests you, you will be more likely to stick with it.

Team up

Find a friend with similar goals—swap healthy recipes and be active together. Staying on track is easier with support and a cheerleader

Celebrate successes

Think of each change as a “win” as you build positive habits and find ways to reach your goals. Reward yourself—you’ve earned it!

T.L.L. Temple Foundation awards more than $1 million to three Texas food banks

Lufkin, TX: The T.L.L. Temple Foundation (TLLTF) recently awarded grants totaling $1,069,788 to the East Texas Food Bank, Southeast Texas Food Bank and Trinity River Food Bank, to help people struggling with hunger. The East Texas Food Bank and Southeast Texas Food Bank received $255,312 each to help offset the higher costs of food due to inflation. Trinity River Food Bank received $559,164 to support operations of the food bank and their partner pantries, and to help with increased food costs.

“Our region has higher rates of food insecurity than the state and nation,” said Wynn Rosser, president and CEO of the T.L.L. Temple Foundation. “Alleviating food insecurity is one of the foundation’s highest priorities.”

The East Food Bank serves 11 counties within TLLTF’s 24-county service area: Bowie, Cass, Anderson, Cherokee, Rusk, Panola, Shelby, Houston, Nacogdoches, Angelina, and San Augustine.

“ETFB and the foundation have a history of working together to end hunger, and we are appreciative of their dedication to our service area,” said Dennis Cullinane, CEO of the East Texas Food Bank. “The costs of groceries is hurting so many of our neighbors and leaving many families with having to make decisions between paying utilities, rent and medicine or buying food. We are thankful for our partnership with the T.L.L. Temple Foundation and their goal of ensuring that hungry East Texans have access to healthy food.”

The Southeast Texas Food Bank serves 14,000 families a month in the foundation’s eight-county service areas of Hardin, Jasper, Jefferson, Newton, Orange, Polk, Sabine, and Tyler.

“More families are searching for nutritious foods that do not heavily burden an already challenging family budget and are turning to food pantries for support,” said Harvey Zernial, president and CEO of the Southeast Texas Food Bank. “This additional funding is allowing us to add variety to our offerings at no cost to the food pantries and the families. We are truly blessed with the partnership we have with the T.L.L. Temple Foundation and this support comes at a great time of need.”

“The T.L.L. Temple Foundation has provided Trinity River Food Bank with generous support to fight hunger in four rural East Texas counties over the next three years,” said Christine Shippey, president and CEO. “We are passionate about connecting East Texans with nutritious, affordable food to prevent the hunger epidemic from stunting bodies, minds, and dreams for the future. Foundation funding will help cover our core operating costs, expand the capacity of our partners, and extend our fleet of vehicles to serve remote parts of Liberty, San Jacinto, Trinity, and Walker counties.”

About T.L.L. Temple Foundation: The T.L.L. Temple Foundation works alongside rural communities to build a thriving East Texas and to alleviate poverty, creating access and opportunities for all. Since its founding in 1962 by Mrs. Georgie Temple Munz, the T.L.L. Temple Foundation has invested more than $550 million primarily to strengthen communities in rural East Texas. For more information about the foundation, visit www.tlltemple.foundation.