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Texas has long struggled with one of the highest childhood food insecurity rates in the nation. This summer, the state had a chance to help—through a bipartisan-supported program that would have provided modest summer grocery benefits to eligible families at a minimal cost to the state budget.

As we observe National Hunger Awareness Month, we had the privilege of sitting down with Mary Herbert, a longtime advocate for food security and recently retired staff member of the Baylor Collaborative on Hunger and Poverty. From her early dreams of becoming a teacher to her years of dedicated service in West Texas, Mary shares how her life experiences, faith, and community have shaped her passion to serve others—especially those facing hunger.

Last week, the U.S. House passed legislation to cut $290 billion from SNAP and further limit Medicaid access. This policy decision revealed how far removed many lawmakers are from the day-to-day realities of hunger in Texas.

One such reality can be found in the story of Lupe and Luis, and how decisions to pay rent, buy food, or seek medical care cost Lupe her life.

In Texas, one of the wealthiest states in the nation, food insecurity isn't just a by-product of poverty; it's the direct result of policy. Lupe and Luis should be enjoying their grandchildren today.

School nutrition efforts are widely recognized as one of the most effective ways to alleviate child hunger around the world. Data from the Urban Institute show that the Meals-to-You program was just as effective as the federal free and reduced-price lunch program, if not more so. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Meals-to-You reduced child hunger in rural areas by an estimated eight times more per meal than the National School Lunch Program.

The program that’s now languishing in a bureaucratic morass is one of the most efficient solutions to rural child hunger the country has ever seen.

Recent cuts by the U.S. Department of Agriculture have forced the cancellation of 396 food deliveries to Texas food banks, putting at risk nearly 12 million pounds of food valued at $19 million and intended for emergency food assistance.

“That means we have simply chosen not to prioritize food insecure households when we have all the resources available to us to ensure that no one goes hungry,” he said. “The issue isn’t production. The issue is access.”

Removing junk food from Supplemental Nutrition Assistant Program benefits has been on the chopping block for years, but now there seems to be a growing momentum to get this done.

Dr. Craig Gundersen, a professor of economics and chair of the Baylor Collaborative on Hunger and Poverty, is an expert in SNAP and food insecurity with his work cited and used across the country. One of his many reasons for supporting SNAP comes from the fact that the program gives "dignity and autonomy" to its struggling users. The core issue at hand with these proposed junk food restrictions is that they challenge SNAP users' autonomy.

Fall 2024 marked the launch of the Student Food Security Council, a student-led and student-focused group housed within the Baylor Collaborative on Hunger and Poverty. In just a few months, this group is partnering with Chartwells Higher Education and the Food Recovery Network to directly address campus food insecurity through a food recovery initiative.

“When it comes to programs like Summer EBT, if you’re leaving $450 million on the table in resources that could benefit approximately 3.7 million kids and that would ultimately have an economic impact of $1.3 billion for the state economy, that’s huge.”

The [Summer EBT] program provides funds for each eligible child on an electronic benefit card that families can use like a debit card to buy groceries.

What would you say to someone when asked, "Why did you decide to make a career out of combatting hunger?"

This month we humbly introduce you to Pearlanna Carron, Director of the Triangle Community Outreach, Inc. located in Port Arthur, Texas. Pearlanna has been a champion in her immediate and surrounding rural communities when it comes to caring for others, but where does her drive come from? Hear her story and learn how Triangle Community Outreach, Inc. is utilizing a summer non-congregate meals option to serve their most rural communities.

Have you hosted a rural non-congregate summer meal site, yet? Need some encouragement?
Learn how Carley Carpenter, who serves as the Director of Food Services for Burnet Consolidated ISD, mobilized her staff to make nutritious foods accessible for rural families in the communities of Bertram, Texas.

A teacher at Florence Elementary, Connie has been a champion in her community. In this article, we highlight the impact she's made in Florence, Texas and in the lives of the many students that have graced her classroom!

Lillian has been the Director of Florence ISD's Child Nutrition Services for the past 15 years, and has a trove of experience working in food service. In this article you will get a glimpse into how Lillian champions creativity and actively finds ways to involve the community in feeding children nutritious foods.

The Baylor Collaborative on Hunger and Poverty works to end food insecurity through innovative programs, global partnerships

With updated requirements to meal service options offered through the USDA's Summer Food Service Program, rural communities can now participate in non-congregate meal service options such as home delivered meals. Learn about the Baylor Collaborative's new resources to help get a non-congregate mailed meal program up and running in your community.

A three-day Baylor University symposium on “Migration and Food Needs: Latin American and U.S. Perspectives” will bring together scholars, practitioners, policymakers and students April 16-18 in an exploration of the crucial intersections between food, migration, religion, economic opportunity and human flourishing, including the culinary contributions of migrants to U.S. communities.

The Baylor Collaborative on Hunger and Poverty exists to cultivate scalable solutions to end hunger. Many of those solutions come in the form of public policy. Legislation passed in the 2023 Texas Legislative Session mark significant wins for those most at risk of food insecurity in the state. 

The Baylor Collaborative on Hunger and Poverty has received a gift from the Whitsons Culinary group to assist with hunger outreach programs. 

The Baylor Collaborative on Hunger and Poverty has been awarded a grant to operate the innovative Meals-to-You program for a fifth summer.

With the 2023 Farm Bill poised to be negotiated and passed in the fall, the Baylor Collaborative on Hunger and Poverty lays out three key priorities for the most important food-related policy of the U.S. Government.

An important pandemic-era food insecurity initiative is coming to an end.

The 2023 Omnibus Spending Bill builds on the success of Baylor Collaborative on Hunger and Poverty's "Meals-to-You" program and opens the door for making meal delivery and EBT options a permanent part of the Child Nutrition landscape in the U.S.

Jeremy Everett, Founder and Executive Director of the Baylor Collaborative on Hunger and Poverty, will represent Baylor at the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health.

The annual report by the United States Department of Agriculture documenting the state of food insecurity in the U.S. has been released. Craig Gundersen, researcher with the Baylor Collaborative on Hunger and Poverty responds.

Jeremy Everett, Executive Director of the Baylor Collaborative on Hunger and Poverty issues statement regarding the passing of Congresswoman Jackie Walorski

The Baylor Collaborative on Hunger and Poverty held a partner-led convening to solicit ideas for the upcoming White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health.

Incentive program increases access to milk and milk products for low-income families.

BCHP Celebrates Juneteenth.

The Meals-to-You demonstration project, designed to provide shelf-stable summer meals for children in rural areas, received funds to continue for a fourth year.

The White House has announced its first conference since 1969 on hunger, nutrition, and health. The event could result in positive movement to end hunger in our country.

A $455k grant from an anonymous donor will allow the Baylor Collaborative on Hunger and Poverty (BCHP) to partner with and provide support for George W. Truett Theological Seminary’s Master of Arts degree in Theology, Ecology, and Food Justice (TEFJ).

A new program of the Baylor Collaborative on Hunger and Poverty aims to evaluate criminal justice systems that intersect with the experience of hunger and poverty.

Baylor University today announced a $1.5 million gift from Jim and Tammy Snee of Austin, Minnesota, establishing an endowed faculty chair position to lead research efforts addressing food security through the Baylor Collaborative on Hunger and Poverty (BCHP).

LUBBOCK, Texas (NEWS RELEASE) — A partnership between the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Lowe’s Supermarkets, and the South Plains Hunger Solutions is expanding its reach into the Lubbock community. The Add Milk! pilot project, created in the 2018 USDA Farm Bill, is designed to research whether incentive programs for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) will increase the consumption of healthy fluid milk among SNAP recipients. Add Milk! gives participants a dollar-for-dollar match to purchase additional milk to promote a healthy, well-rounded diet.

The USDA is set to increase Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP benefits by more than 25%, the biggest increase in over 40 years. Professor Craig Gundersen weighs in on how that will impact food insecurity.

Craig Gundersen, an economist with the Baylor Collaborative on Hunger and Poverty, speaks to new SNAP guidelines aimed at increasing resources and reducing food insecurity.

A new permanent increase to the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program announced Monday will make a big dent in food insecurity in McLennan County and across Texas, a Baylor University economist and food policy expert said.

Betty Teston from our West Texas office discusses the Add Milk! Healthy Fluid Milk Incentive Program

If we ever hope to solve our nation's hunger and poverty crisis, we must know the truth about it.

Grant continues support for Child Nutrition Outreach.

Newly named collaborative will become the umbrella entity for THI, as well as interdisciplinary research, Global Hunger and Migration Project and Hunger Data Lab

USDA grant will fund a research project aimed at testing an innovative approach to distributing food by mail to students in rural communities during the summer months.

The Texas Hunger Initiative is affiliated with Baylor University’s Diana R. Garland School of Social Work and partners with federal, state and local agencies to develop and implement strategies to combat hunger. This month, it celebrates its 10th anniversary.

Waco ISD changed the way it delivers breakfast to students with the help of Baylor University's Texas Hunger Initiative, an organization that works across the state to coordinate efforts to battle hunger.

Move beyond failure and reach for seemingly unattainable dreams, such as a world without hunger, TV celebrity woodworker Clint Harp urged participants at the Together at the Table Hunger and Poverty Summit.

In the fight to increase food access in Dallas, area health nonprofits have a new weapon that will help them identify where Dallas faces the most urgent needs.

The City of Dallas Community Food Assessment, an interactive map that highlights key data like the concentration of diseases such as obesity and diabetes, was presented Friday at the seventh annual Dallas Hunger Summit, where dozens of area nutrition nonprofits gathered to listen to what Dallas’ hospital health systems and other health groups are doing to serve Dallas’ neediest.

Jeremy Everett, executive director of Baylor University’s Texas Hunger Initiative, will be a featured panelist at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute’s (CHCI) 2018 Leadership Conference. He will be speaking on a panel for a session titled, "Integrated Food Security: Emerging Trends and Best Practices."

Participation in school breakfast programs is increasing, and that is good news in the fight against food insecurity among Texas families. School food programs are the primary providers of nourishment for many children. However, not all children eligible for free and reduced-price meals offered through the public school system take advantage of them, and that’s troubling. In Texas, 17.2 percent of households lacked access to adequate food in 2103 due to a lack of money and other resources, according to the United States Department of Agriculture. Among children, the food insecurity rate was 27.4 percent for 2013.

More than 42 million people in the U.S. are food insecure, meaning they lack reliable access to affordable, quality food. More than 4 million Texans are food insecure, including nearly 1 out of every 4 children. It’s felt by some of our own neighbors, here in Waco and even on campus. Here are four ways Baylor is working to “love thy neighbor” and combat hunger.

Three Baylor University mission teams served in Texas over spring break to provide relief for those affected by Hurricane Harvey, as well as by hunger, homelessness and many other circumstances. More than 60 students, faculty and staff traveled across the state to serve in schools, nonprofits, neighborhoods, respite centers and community buildings.

There is good news for Texas school children who start their day off with a school breakfast, according to the Texas School Breakfast Report Card produced by Baylor University’s Texas Hunger Initiative. Thanks in part to the passage in 2013 of Texas Senate Bill 376 – the “Universal Breakfast Bill” – and the implementation of alternative service models, Texas has become a national leader in school breakfast participation, moving up to 10th in the state rankings.

Teams of Baylor University students, faculty and staff will partner with various community groups and relief efforts over spring break March 4-9 in order to bring hope to communities that were impacted by Hurricane Harvey. Baylor Missions will work to identify needs, serve others and bring relief to the recently devastated and desolate areas in south Texas and along the Texas Gulf coast.

Grant will continue outreach for child nutrition programs, conduct research to evaluate effectiveness.

House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, has announced the appointment of Jeremy Everett, M.Div. ’01, director of the Texas Hunger Initiative at Baylor University, to the National Commission on Hunger.
Established by Congress in January 2014, the National Commission on Hunger is charged with providing policy recommendations to Congress regarding programs and funds to combat domestic hunger and food insecurity. The Commission also will develop recommendations to encourage public-private partnerships, faith-based sector engagement and community initiatives to reduce the need for government nutrition assistance programs, while protecting the safety net for the most vulnerable members of society.

In conjunction with National School Breakfast Week (March 3-7, 2014), the Texas Hunger Initiative, based out of the Baylor University School of Social Work, has released the second edition of its Texas School Breakfast Report Card, demonstrating what participation in school breakfast programs looks like across the state. Designed with school administrators and nutrition personnel in mind, the Texas School Breakfast Report Card provides an introduction to child hunger in Texas while also laying out pragmatic models for breakfast distribution in schools, a breakdown of associated benefits, success stories and suggested goals for school officials trying to create a healthy, hunger-free learning environment.

"The Austin school district is missing out on a healthy helping of federal funding because fewer than one out of two eligible students eats free breakfast each morning.
The federal government has long paid school districts for free or reduced-price meals, including breakfast, that they serve to students. But while other districts are expanding their programs and passing along the bill to the federal government, Austin has seen a net drop in the number of students eating breakfast at school -- something research has shown boosts academic performance, deters discipline problems and helps fight obesity. Austin landed in the bottom 12 of the 87 districts studied in the School Breakfast Scorecard, released annually by the Food Research and Action Center."

http://www.statesman.com/news/news/austin-lags-behind-other-districts-in-providing-fe/ndPkx/

To view the full piece, download the articlehere.