annual report

“If you can’t feed a hundred people, then feed just one.”

Mother Teresa of Calcutta

Dear Friends,It is disheartening that in our land of plenty the issue of hunger stubbornly persists. Yet, for nearly 1 in 4 Southeast Texans, empty plates and empty pantries constantly remind them that hunger is a harsh reality they are destined to face.

Some of those facing hunger are single parents and their children, limited by a single in-come and little time to prepare nutritious meals. Others may be senior couples who not only have an empty nest, but a barren refrigerator as well. Still others may be families with multiple jobs whose income exceeds government entitlement program limits, but is not enough to leave them fully self-sufficient.

The circumstances contributing to hunger can be as unique as the individuals affected by it, but a common thread underlying the issue is unequal access to food resources.

Food banks exist to try to improve food access and help each community steer available excess food resources to those most in need within its midst. For nearly 25 years, the Southeast Texas Food Bank has forged partnerships with faith-based and social service organizations spread across eight counties to distribute available food to the needy. That mission continues in earnest because no community has yet perfected the process and given the world a model for ending hunger.

This annual report reflects on some of the successes to be celebrated and some of the continuing challenges faced while engaging in our core mission of food distribution. As you review this report, I hope it offers helpful insights into the diverse ways the modest staff and thousands of volunteers and donors who support the Food Bank each year improve life for more than 100,000 Southeast Texans who need our services.

Each day, I am inspired by the commitment of those engaged in hunger reduction, even as I am also confronted daily by the seemingly unending plea for more food to be distributed by the Food Bank. In summarizing a year of activity comprised of days of inspiration and days of challenge, and in accounting for the way the Southeast Texas Food Bank has used its resources during that year, I remain assured and positive. I am assured that friends and partners like you are among the Food Bank’s greatest assets and I am positive that you will help demonstrate that Southeast Texas has the will power to persist in the fight against hunger, generating more food access through a better sharing of our bounty.

Sincerely,

Dan Maher Executive Director

Officers

Juan ZabalaPresident

Steve LyleVice-President

Ward LoweTreasurer

Luther MartinSecretary

BOard MeMBersStephanie AbregoEric CollinsStephen GiesekeMike HattonShawn OubreRonnie ShiloMonica ThomasAl WilloughbyMary YoungHarvey Zernial

advisOry BOard Chuck BarbeeWarren ClaybarDee DavisJarred DeMoreAdam DuncanVernon DurdenScott FisherPat GallagherAlan HeftyGarrett Peel

From theexecutive directOr

Board of directOrs

suMMary stateMent Of finances for Period of January 1 through December 31, 2015

revenue and support (Cash and In-Kind)

Cash Donations $ 1,997,823Donated Goods for Distribution $ 4,860,865USDA Emergency Food Assistance Grant $ 3,096,217Other Grants $ 91,228Service Fees $ 391,503Interest Income $ 4,356Other Income $ 11,649

total revenue and support $10,453,641

functional expenses

Program Services $ 9,759,851Support Services General and Administrative $ 291,896 Fundraising $ 212,600

total functional expenses $10,264,347

Increase in Net Assets $ 189,294

net assets, Beginning of year $3,092,738

net assets, end of year $3,282,032

The progress Southeast Texas Food Bank achieved during 2015 has allowed us to pursue our goal to lead the fight against hunger in Southeast Texas. We are committed to making much needed investments in our programs and resources. Our volunteer and donor contributions, along with continued support from federal, state and local governments, enable us to continue our mission, and for that we are extremely grateful.

revenue and suppOrt

■ Donated Goods for Distribution

■ USDA Emergency Food Assistance Grant

■ Cash Donations

■ Other Other Grants, Service Fees, Interest Income and Other Income

■ Program Service Expenses

■ General, Administrative and Fundraising

Overall expenses

By thenuMBers

4.8%

29.6%

46.5%

19.1%

4.9%95.1%

suMMary Of Key activities

• An estimated 90,000 people received food assistance through food distributed to 120 partner agencies and 31 school partners• Sufficient food access was created through food distri-bution and SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Pro-gram) enrollment to provide more than 4 million meals to those seeking hunger relief services• Approximately 16,000 children, seniors, and families vul-nerable to poor nutrition participated in nutrition educa-tion series and individual lessons delivered by Food Bank staff at 58 different venues • More than 1 million pounds of food slated for disposal was picked up from local retailers to insure it reached those in need of food while still in condition to be consumed• 10,000 volunteer hours were contributed to advance the work of the Food Bank• Food Bank staff assisted 300 people with SNAP enroll-ment, creating estimated access to more than 1,000 meals per person enrolled during the year • A pilot diabetic food pantry program was established in one of our partner agencies to begin targeting healthier foods to the 1 in 3 clients of partner agencies who have diabetes in their household

lOcal Hunger data

Food insecurity is defined as an inability to self-provide three nutritious meals a day for oneself or one’s family. The data below shows that food insecurity is a significant challenge for many Southeast Texans.

• Within the Food Bank’s eight-county service territory, the ratio of those residents deemed to be food insecure is estimated to be 22.6 percent. Among children, that ratio is estimated to be 29.7 percent• Sabine County has the highest childhood food insecurity rate within our service territory, with a rate of 34.9 per-cent. Jefferson County has the highest overall food inse-curity rate, with 24.7 percent of county residents deemed food insecure• It is estimated that more than 116,000 residents of Southeast Texas are food insecure• It is estimated that for every food insecure resident of our region to have sufficient economic resources to self-provide all their meals throughout a year, our economy would need to generate an additional $54 million of in-come for them• In 2015, the Food Bank and its partner agencies pro-vided approximately 20 percent of the meals needed to supplement the food needs of our region’s food insecure residents with a community cash investment of just over $2 million donated to the Food Bank’s operations

Did You Know?

• The Southeast Texas Food Bank distributes food in eight counties (Hardin, Jasper, Jefferson, Newton, Orange, Polk, Sabine, and Tyler counties) through partnerships with approximately 150 faith-based and social service organiza-tions and schools• The service territory of the Food Bank covers approximately 6,000 square miles

Jefferson

Orange

Hardin

Polk Tyler

JasperNewton

Sabine

tHe usda eMergency fOOd assistance prOgraM

Like all states, Texas receives an allocation of selected food products secured by the federal government for distri-bution to those facing economic challenges and food in-security. Texas’ Department of Agriculture distributes this allocation through a formula that allocates a share to each Feeding America affiliated food bank throughout the state. Based on that formula, approximately 2 percent of the USDA allocation shared with the state is allocated to the Southeast Texas Food Bank to be directed to qualifying re-cipients in our region. This USDA program was the Food Bank’s largest source of food in 2015, providing 34.4 per-cent of the food distributed.

natiOnal and regiOnal retail cHains and Manufacturers

Another key food resource for the Food Bank is partner-ships with local retail stores that represent national or large regional chains (for example, HEB, Kroger and Walmart). As these retailers prepare to replace older product with fresher product, they make the older product available to the Food Bank so that it can be re-purposed for feeding the hungry. Occasionally, national manufacturers will make unsellable product available to food banks as well. These relationships yielded 27.2 percent of the food distributed in 2015.

purcHased prOduct

To assure that certain staple foods are always available for distribution or to supplement shelf stable non-perishable foods with fresher offerings, food is purchased to provide well-rounded nutritional offerings. In 2015, 25.7 percent of the food distributed was purchased.

Acquiring food for distribution is a key daily activity of the Food Bank. Our goal is to acquire as much food as pos-sible while incurring as little cost as possible to maximize the efficiency of our food distribution activities and stretch financial resources. Summarized below are the ways we access food for distribution in our region.

fOOd sOurces

■ The USDA Emergency Food Assistance Program

■ National and Regional Retail Chains and Manufacturers

■ Purchased Product

■ Local Donations

■ Feeding America Affiliation

lOcal dOnatiOns

Food donated by smaller local retailers and by the general public in our region through food drives or other food donation methods generated 8.2 percent of the food dis-tributed in 2015.

feeding aMerica affiliatiOn

Our affiliation with Feeding America yields relationships with national donors who lack a presence in Southeast Texas and offers some access to product not easily avail-able within our state or region. As a consequence, 4.5 per-cent of the food distributed in 2015 came through Feed-ing America.

Gathering FoodresOurces

27.2%

25.7%

8.2%

4.5%

34.4%

HOlding a fOOd and fund drive

Collecting needed non-perishable food items and delivering them to the Food Bank and/or collecting funds to support our operations are helpful ways to get involved with our mission. The most needed food items from food drives are as follows:

BeansCanned Goods (chicken, fruits, soup, stew, tuna and vegetables)CerealChiliJuice (100% juice in a box or can)Mac & CheeseMilk (shelf stable or condensed)PastaPeanut ButterRice

Mealtime Math

$250 donation = 750 meals

$100 donation = 300 meals

$50 donation = 150 meals

$25 donation = 75 meals

$1 donation = 3 meals

Many in our community are struggling to make ends meet. You can help ensure that every child in Southeast Texas is ad-equately nourished, that none of our senior citizens are forced to chose between medicine and food, and that every family fac-ing a crisis can at least have the assurance of food on the table. As you can see, even as little as a dollar can make a difference!

Impacting our cOMMunity

“A first grade student told me how she looks forward to receiving her “bag of food” every Friday. She asks me at least three times a week

if she will get a food bag on Friday.”

Backpack Program Administrator at a Local School

BacKpacK prOgraM

The Backpack Program provides supplemental weekend food to families who qualify for free or reduced participa-tion in the federal feeding programs in elementary schools to feed their children during the school week. The eco-nomic standing of those families means they often struggle to provide evening or weekend meals for their children, so our Backpack Program sends supplemental nutrition home with students at 31 participating schools. Public elementary schools can qualify to participate in the program when 70 percent or more of their student population receive free or reduced school meals. Those qualifying schools then re-ceive food to send home each weekend with a fraction of the federally subsidized students in their school.

Some Backpack Facts

• Close to 1,500 students from 31 different schools par-ticipated in the program• 30,752 sacks of food were sent home with students for weekend nutritional supplementation• Seven of our eight service territory counties had qualify-ing schools

scHOOl tOOls prOgraM

Following the same protocol as that employed with the Backpack Program, public elementary schools with 70 percent or more of their student population receiving free or reduced school meals can designate classroom teach-ers to come to the Food Bank once a month to pick up an array of school supplies for their students who lack ac-cess to adequate school supplies through their parents or guardians. Through partnerships with two national donors, the Kids in Need Foundation and First Books program, we receive large donated quantities of school supplies and age appropriate books that we must offer to schools for distribution to needy students.

This program aims to give disadvantaged youth a level playing field in the classroom by equipping them with the same tools as other students, while also easing the finan-cial strain of affording school supplies for economically challenged households. It is hoped that giving equal access to necessary school tools possibly sets those students on a trajectory that might help them reach their full academic potential and release them from poverty as they mature.

Some School Tools Facts

• Hundreds of elementary teachers from schools in seven of our eight service counties visited the Food Bank during the year to pick up school supplies and books for their students and classrooms• The Kids in Need Foundation donated classroom sup-plies valued at almost $686,000, while First Books donated 31,908 books valued at more than $335,000

“One child, one teacher, one book, one pen can change the world.”

Malala Yousafzai, Youngest-Ever Nobel Prize Laureate

Impacting our cOMMunity

sOcial services cOOrdinatiOn A Food Bank staff member is dedicated to daily outreach within our eight-county service territory to help with the enrollment of those who may be eligible for government entitlement programs but have never enrolled for those benefits before.

Chief among the benefits we help encourage participa-tion in is enrollment in SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits to increase access to food for those who could use that benefit’s value to buy food for themselves. Encouraging this practice allows those who may not absolutely need the food distributed by the Food Bank to gain access to food through the govern-ment-provided channels available to them, maximizing the Food Bank’s resources for those who need to supplement SNAP benefits with additional food distributed by the Food Bank or who may not qualify for government aid, yet are not in position to be completely self-sufficient.

In addition to helping encourage SNAP enrollment, our staff member assists with the application process for other key supplemental aid programs, including TANF (Tempo-rary Aid to Needy Families), Medicaid, and CHIP (Chil-dren’s Health Insurance Program).

Did You Know? • 7.5 percent of the meal access created by the Southeast Texas Food Bank in 2015 is attributable to our SNAP en-rollment activities within the community

nutritiOn educatiOn services

A grant received through the Texas Health and Human Services Commission helps fund our delivery of nutrition-al education content in economically challenged commu-nities, using schools, after school programs, housing com-plexes, and other community gathering points as venues where classes or series of classes are offered. By teaching the importance of proper nutrition and the merits of eat-ing healthily in an affordable way, we are influencing the nutritional decisions made by children, seniors, and others who may be vulnerable to taking nutritional short cuts that can jeopardize their health.

A complementary element of the program begun in 2015 was the establishment of a pilot program at St. Mark’s Church in Beaumont designed to direct healthier boxes of food to those affected by diabetes. Studies have indicated that 1 in 3 people seeking food assistance from partner agencies face diabetes personally or in their household. Since this is more than twice the general regional aver-age, we are aiming to improve health among food inse-cure diabetics by creating access to foods that can help them control their diabetes, to health care that can help them control their blood sugar level, and to supportive nutritional education that can reinforce the importance of making proper dietary choices.

55 MilliOn MealsThe Southeast Texas Food Bank has distributed

more than 55 million meals in its history!

tens Of tHOusandsVolunteers at the Food Bank and its partner agencies contribute tens of thousands of hours of service to hunger relief annually.

30+ eleMentary scHOOls The Food Bank supplies more than 30 elementary schools in

low-income regions with food for needy students to take home on weekends and free school supplies for their classrooms.

100,000 sOutHeast texansNearly 100,000 Southeast Texans a year receive food

and other services provided by the Food Bank.

vOlunteering

Volunteerism at the Food Bank can be a highly rewarding experience with a diverse set of tasks to engage in. Thou-sands of volunteers support our mission each year. Feel free to join them!

Some Standard Volunteer Tasks

• Sorting of food and other donations• Food box assembly• Aiding teachers in School Tools• Restocking School Tools• Office tasks

To get started as a volunteer, visit our website at www.setx-foodbank.org, click on the Volunteer tab, create a volunteer profile and select from the menu of available activities at dates and times that suit your schedule. For more informa-tion, call our Volunteer Coordinator at 409-839-8777.

“Working at the Food Bank with my kids is an eye-opener. The face of hunger isn’t the bum on the street drinking Sterno; it’s the working poor. They don’t look any different, they don’t behave any differently, they’re not really any

less educated. They are incredibly less privileged, and that’s it.”

Mario Batali, Noted Chef

www.setxfoodbank.orgPhone 409-839-8777

Toll Free 844-356-9084