Nourish Coalition Newsletter - Vol. 1

Welcome to the inaugural edition of the BCC Nourish Newsletter- a tool to connect and inform residents of Bastrop County interested in food system topics. It is our goal to publish our informal news quarterly to highlight the events and work happening in association with BCC Nourish.

Nourish News Now

Each quarter we'll keep you updated on the direct action that the coalition is taking to address on going challenges and opportunities in the Bastrop County food system.

Established Mission and Vision Statements

This important step will help us access important grant funding to support ongoing and sustainable community food system improvement efforts

Mission: To collectively create a healthier, more sustainable, and just food system to improve the lives of people in the Bastrop County community

Vision: We envision a community based effort that brings together food cycle stakeholders and members of varying cultures, tastes and budgets to create a sustainable food system that can nourish us today and for generations to come.

Updating the Food Pantry Directory

Summer intern, Marley H., is seeking to find out the following information from faith communities and beyond:

do they have a food pantry established
do they offer a "blessing box"
is there a community garden

If you know of a food pantry in your area within Bastrop County limits, we would love to hear from you and will keep you informed as the initiative develops.

Contact Bastrop County Cares 512-412-6111

A

Food Leadership 101 Certification

Texas Center for Local Food (TCLF) and Iowa State University provided a two day training on June 7 & 8, 2023. The class covered courses in Local Food Leadership (LFL) Food Systems, Equity and Values, Leadership and Facilitation, Plans of Work and Professional Development, and Evaluation. We are excited to share that 24 Bastrop County residents participated and earned the certification.c

LFL Certification

Texas Legislation Food System Wins

The 2023 TX legislative session has passed several important laws that improve Texans’ food security. These laws will be effective on September 1st, 2023.

HB 1287 will increase TX residents eligibility to participate in SNAP by increasing the “Vehicle Asset Test” from $15,000 to $22,500 for a primary vehicle and from $4,650 to $8,700 for additional vehicles. (link is to TX Tribune Article)

HB3599 will eliminate fuel and transportation taxes as well as registration fees for nonprofit entities who distribute food in their communities. This will allow those cost savings to be invested directly back into the communities they serve in a more direct way. (link is to tx.gov)

Texans Feeding Texans will see a 100% increase in funding from $10.2M to $20.4M as a means to offset transportation and other related costs to get surplus food from farmers to food banks. (link is to TDA)

HB1743 increases access to SNAP benefits for those individuals exiting the criminal justice system prior to their release from incarceration. This opens the door for these folks buy food upon discharge so they can focus on reintegration. (link is to tx.gov).

No Kid Hungry - TX effectively advocated for increased access to no cost meals for students. This led to biennium budget to contain an additional $3.3M which will help serve upward of 69K students no cost breakfast each day

The benefits of the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) cannot be overstated and benefits all Texans from children to farmers and even the school districts themselves.

We Need Your Help

You will receive a short survey regarding the Nourish: A Sustainable Food Systems Collaborative to you within ten days. Please check your email (and spam) for this survey. The survey will help us identify volunteers and possible leaders for the different sectors of the Nourish Collaborative. Those six sectors are:Local Food Infrastructure, Food Security, Food RX, Food Waste and Recovery, Food Equity and Food System Resilience.

You can help us spread the word about Nourish and recruit people who are passionate about any of the six food systems sectors listed above. There are many ways to be involved; please reply to this email and share the name and contact information of anyone who comes to mind. We can chat with them to find the best level of involvement in the collaborative.

Stay tuned for more updates on the Nourish Coalition, Bastrop County and Texas Food System.

If you would like to contribute news to be considered for inclusion in the next edition, please contact (Krissy Voutas, krissy@bastropcares.org)

Helpful Links

Bastrop Connects, a free volunteer resource platform