Hays County Food Bank Is All About Healthy Nutritious ‘Food Every Day’

Hays County Food Bank spends 7 days a week striving to bring food to our fellow County residents that might need a little help.

They have worked with Capital Area Food Bank to receive frozen meat, but in November, they expanded their relationship to included large amounts of fresh produce.

However, while the produce is free, the other items they receive from Capital Area Food Bank are not.

This wonderful and caring local organization partakes in many local programs to receive food, along with donations from the public; one of these programs is a Food Rescue.

“We go to local retailers and pick up food they can no longer sell,” said Denise Blok, Executive Director at Hays County Food Bank.

“We go seven days a week and we get it to people the same day we pick it up.” As a result, they have received more produce items than ever before.

“We average from 2,000 – 5,000 pounds of produce a week,” said Kirby Stewart, Nutrition program Director at Hays County Food Bank.

Along with the Food Rescue, the Hays County Food Bank also participates in the Get FED Program, a program that is “all about healthy and nutritiousFood Every Day.”

With the Get FED Program, people can attend nutrition education talks, cooking classes and gardening workshops. The program also includes a “Fresh Quest,” which encourages people to drop off fresh produce, homegrown or bought, or by donating money for fresh food.

As part of the Fresh Quest the Hays County Food Bank has a program that allows volunteers to ‘adopt a farm.’ Volunteers work on local farms in exchange for fresh produce.

Hays County Food Bank, in a partnership with the San Marcos Farmers Market, has started selling their new Farmers Market Vouchers at their office, distributions, and partner agencies. The vouchers sell for $10 then, redeemed for $40 worth of fresh produce.

“Our main goal is to increase the amount of fresh produce we receive from a variety of sources to ensure that our clients receive more nutritious food,” said Blok.

If you are interested in donating or volunteering at the Hays County Food Bank, you can contact them through their websitewww.haysfoodbank.org, or by calling them at 512-392-8300.