Author: Michael Hetrick

Your generosity keeps us nimble in the fight against hunger

When hunger skyrocketed last spring, friends like you responded. Together, you and the East Texas Food Bank served more neighbors than ever using a new drive-through model. When the food supply chain lagged, you were there with funds to fill the gap.

Thank you. Your generosity truly is the key to keeping us prepared in the ever-changing fight against hunger.

This spring, we need your help once again, as 1 in 5 East Texans continues to struggle. Recovery is slow for neighbors like Kaprenai and her husband, whose employment recently took a hit.

“I’m not working right now, and my husband isn’t working as much as he used to,” shares this local mom. “Our income just dropped suddenly.”

Kaprenai worried they wouldn’t be able to afford nutritious food for their young children. Then, she and her husband discovered a nearby food distribution…and their anxiety evaporated. You helped give them a food box full of fresh fruits and vegetables, cereal, peanut butter, dairy and more.

“This food will help out a lot,” Kaprenai smiles.

If you would like to help families like Kaprenai that the East Texas Food Bank serves each day, you can make a gift online, volunteer with us or have a virtual food drive for your business or organization.

National Nutrition Month: Consult a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN)

March is National Nutrition Month®️, and the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics wants to help give everyone the tools to make informed food choices and develop healthful eating and physical activity habits for life. This year’s theme is to Personalize Your Plate, and this week’s message is to: consult a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN)

Anyone can call themselves a nutritionist, but only RDN’s have met the comprehensive standards established by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. RDN’s have a bachelor’s degree, are taught a specially designed nutrition curriculum, pass a national registration examination, and complete an extensive supervised internship. About half of all RDN’s have a graduate degree, and many have advanced certifications in specialized fields. RDN’s are the food and nutrition experts and can meet you where you’re at to help you achieve your goals.

Here for 5 tips for working with a RDN.

1.  Ask your doctor for a referral to an RDN

  • Many private insurers, state Medicaid plans, and Medicare cover visits for certain preventive services and health conditions with a referral from your physician.
  • Call your insurance provider and ask questions to find out what nutrition services are covered with your plan.
  • To find a RDN near you, go to https://www.eatright.org/find-an-expert or check with your local hospital, doctor, or insurance company.

2.  Receive personal nutrition advice to meet your goals

  • Whether your goal is to slim down, lower your cholesterol, or to simply eat better, a RDN can help you avoid fad diets and can provide you with a sound, easy to follow plan that is tailored to you, your goals, and your lifestyle.
  • A RDN can help provide you with the best path from where you are now to where you want to be.

3.  Meet RDNs in a variety of settings throughout your community

  • RDNs can be found working in the treatment and prevention of disease, in community and public health settings, in research, and in many other non-traditional work settings.
  • Hospitals – RDNs educate patients about nutrition, provide medical nutrition therapy, provide nutrition support, and manage the foodservice operations.
  • Schools – RDNs create healthy menus, help create wellness policies, and may provide nutrition education to help kids learn about the importance of a balanced diet early on.
  • Community and Public Health Centers – RDNs help the public improve their quality of life through teaching balanced eating habits.
  • Private Practice – RDNs provide individual client counseling to help people meet their goals.

4.  Find an RDN who is specialized to serve your unique needs

  • When you have a chronic disease, like high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes, kidney disease, or cancer, it can be hard to know what to eat. A RDN can help you with a personalized eating plan that includes the important nutrients to help you manage your condition.
  • When you have food allergies or sensitivities, a RDN can teach you how to read food labels, help you identify which ingredients to avoid, and help you find tasty substitutions to keep your diet balanced.
  • When you or your child are a picky eater, a RDN can help identify nutritional risks and help recommend strategies to help you or your child achieve a balanced diet.

5.  Thrive through the transformative power of food and nutrition – good nutrition benefits other areas of your health and life, including:

  • Reduced risk of chronic disease
  • Improved ability to learn and concentrate
  • Improved ability to fight off illness

Thank you for following along with us for National Nutrition Month. You can also follow us on Facebook and find healthy recipes here.

Virtual food drives helping make a difference in East Texas during COVID

Virtual Food Drives

Food drives have always been a part of food banking since the beginning. Everyone loves making a difference when they donate their canned, non-perishable food items to help feed families who are struggling. But with the arrival of COVID-19 last year and new protocols to prevent the spread of the virus, the East Texas Food Bank had to make the tough decision to temporarily suspend our community food drives.

Our solution was to introduce Virtual Food Drives. These online pages are a great way to still donate food to the East Texas Food Bank by making monetary gifts. These food drives have proven to be very popular, with over 546,000 meals raised so far “virtually”.

We recently spoke with one of our virtual food drive organizers, Brett Noteware, about his virtual food drive experience..

ETFB: Brett, how did you learn about our Virtual Food Drives?
Brett: The pandemic has adversely impacted many people in our area. My awareness of food scarcity was heightened by a photo I saw of cars lined up to get food at a distribution in Dallas. I then heard about a volunteer event at the East Texas Food Bank sponsored by my employer, CHRISTUS Health. I wanted to participate in that, but decided not to due to the risk of contracting COVID-19. So instead, I contacted the food bank and learned about Virtual Food Drives and thought it would be a great idea.

ETFB: Why did you decide to host a VFD?
Brett: To help those in need that have been impacted by the pandemic. This also aligns with the values of CHRISTUS Health, who thankfully I am still able to work for during the pandemic.

ETFB: Tell us about your specific drive. What made is special?
Brett: I did the virtual food drive as part of my birthday celebration. The pandemic caused me to reassess my life and develop a new appreciation and gratitude for my station in it. I realized that I would have a better birthday by focusing on those in need instead of myself. Since large gatherings were not an option, I did a “gumbo-to-go” event in which my wife and I made gumbo, homemade rolls and bread pudding. We gave it away and asked for donations for the East Texas Food Bank in return. We ended up raising over $1,000 which was amazing and surprising to say the least!

ETFB: Would you encourage someone to hose a virtual food drive for the East Texas Food Bank?
Brett: Absolutely! The process for setting it up was extremely easy. The staff at the East Texas Food Bank do all of the work, you just provide some basic information to them. It was a very rewarding experience and I am hopeful to do another one in the future.

To learn more about our Virtual Food Drives and how you, your organization or business can make a difference, click here.

New Mobile Pantry Program brings produce to underserved locations

Mobile Pantry Program

The East Texas Food Bank’s new Mobile Pantry Program targets isolated communities with little or no access to emergency food resources throughout our 26 county service area. Communities are determined by using census data that indicates where the highest level of poverty are located.

“We work with our current partners and have community partners that help us facilitate the mobile pantry,” said Tabitha Johnson ETFB Mobile Pantry Coordinator. “It’s a ‘pop-up style’ event where we come on-site then leave when distribution is over.”

The Mobile Pantry Program currently has 10 sites where fresh produce is being distributed to families. Because the program is truly “mobile”, it allows flexibility in location.

“A typical food bank partner pantry is a brick and mortar building,” Johnson said. “A benefit with this program is we can serve a low-income housing development or a larger population in a church parking lot like we do in Texarkana.”

As many as 500 families have been served during one of the recent distributions, but an average of 200-300 household is more common.

“I think the need is so great right now due to the pandemic,” Johnson said.

The community response to the mobile pantry distributions has been good, according to Johnson. She said those who are served are so grateful.

“When we opened the Marshall site recently, we were able to take water and produce because of the need with having the boil water notice there,” Johnson said. “A lady tried to climb out of the car and give me a hug because she was so excited because they hadn’t had water in days and the food was such a blessing to them.”

There are no income or geographic requirements to participate in the Mobile Pantry Program. For more information and locations on the program, click here. If you are interested in being being a partner and hosting a Mobile Pantry location, click here.

National Nutrition Month: Learn skills to create tasty meals!

March is National Nutrition Month®, and the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics wants to help give everyone the tools to make informed food choices and develop healthful eating and physical activity habits for life. This year’s theme is to Personalize Your Plate, and this week’s message is to learn skills to create tasty meals!

Here are 5 tips to learn how to create tasty meals!

1.  Keep healthful ingredients on hand. Life happens, and sometimes, you aren’t able to run to the store but still need to whip up a quick and balanced meal. A well-stocked kitchen will ensure you’re able to do this.

  • Shelf-stable products – dried or canned beans, peas, and lentils; low sodium or no sodium added canned vegetables; whole grains, like brown rice, quinoa, and oats; canned fish and chicken; vegetable oils; dried herbs and spices
  • Frozen foods – frozen vegetables; frozen fruit; frozen skinless poultry, fish, seafood, lean pork, and lean beef.

2.  Practice proper home food safety. Practicing food safety at all times will help slow the growth of some bacteria that can make you sick.

  • Wash – before touching any foods, after touching raw poultry/meat/seafood/eggs, after throwing something away, after using chemicals, and before eating, thoroughly wash your hands with warm, soapy water for at least 20 seconds.
  • Refrigerate – make sure raw and cooked meats, milk, cheese, yogurt, and eggs are refrigerated within two hours of being taken out of the refrigerator.
  • Separate – keep raw poultry, seafood, meats, and eggs away from prepared and ready-to-eat foods.
  • Cook – make sure all poultry, seafood, meats, and eggs are cooked to their safe internal temperature.

3.  Share meals together as a family when possible. Research shows that families tend to eat healthier, try more foods, and consume more appropriate portion sizes when eating together.

  • Make it a habit – choose one meal that works for the entire family, and choose to consistently eat together.
  • Pay attention to each other – turn off the TV, phones, and video games. Take time to talk to and appreciate the people around you.
  • Get everyone involved – have your kids help you pick out healthy recipes, prepare meals, and cook. Use this time to teach them about healthful eating habits.

4.  Reduce food waste. Americans throw away billions of pounds of food each year, but you can easily reduce your impact.

  • Plan meals based on foods you already have – what foods do you already have that can be incorporated into meals? When buying perishable foods, buy only what you need and will be able to use before they go bad.
  • Utilize leftovers – safely store and eat leftovers for a healthy, easy to prepare meal. Get creative with your leftovers and make a new soup, salad, or sandwich with it.
  • Know the shelf life of foods – “Use by,” “Best by,” and “Best Before” dates are often found on condiments and shelf-stable foods. These foods are usually safe to consume long after that date if they have been stored per package instructions. “Sell by” dates are often found on perishable food items. These foods are usually safe to consume a few days after that date as long as they have been stored at a safe temperature.
  • Keep food safe – Store foods at safe temperatures and per package instructions. Eat leftovers within 4 days, or freeze them for up to 4 months. If a food doesn’t smell or taste right, don’t risk your health by eating it.

5.  Try new flavors and foods. Make meals more fun and nutritious by expanding your range of food choices.

  • It starts in the store – when shopping, make a point of selecting a fruit, vegetable, or whole grain that’s new to you.
  • Keep it comfortable – don’t put pressure on yourself when eating. Try new foods by yourself or with a non-judgmental friend.
  • Start small – serve one new food along with familiar favorites you know you love.
  • Keep trying – research shows that the more times we try a food, the more we may like it. Just because you don’t like it this time doesn’t mean you won’t like it ever. Try preparing it in a different way or topping it with a sauce.

Check back next week for more National Nutrition Month information! You can also follow us on Facebook and find healthy recipes here.