Twice a week starting around 6:30 a.m., drivers head to a parking lot in South Austin. Once there, volunteers direct them into orderly rows, where they are ushered forward one-by-one to open their doors and receive a bundle of free food. The process, coordinated by the staff of El Buen Samaritano, is meant to squeeze as many cars as possible into a small space, preventing the line for the nonprofit organization’s food pantry from stretching around the block where it has previously backed up traffic. On a recent Tuesday, Maria Torres was among that group, waiting alone in a white SUV. view article

Austin ISD students wandering through their school lunch lines aren't scooping up that unidentifiable slop from your high school days. They're often choosing from a wide variety of food — pupusas, lo mein, empanadas, chana masala and everything in between. view article

The Socorro Independent School District will be providing free supper, snacks and a fresh fruit and vegetable program at several campuses within the district. “Socorro ISD remains steadfast in our efforts to ensure all students receive delicious, healthy meals that they enjoy and that will assist them to succeed in the classroom and beyond,” said SISD Child Nutrition Services Director Shelley Chenausky. “Our CNS employees proudly prepare and serve breakfast, lunch, supper and snacks to help SISD students seize their opportunities throughout their school da view article

Almost 900,000 Texans have lost Medicaid since April and a backlog of applications has piled up, overwhelming the system and setting off a ripple effect that advocates worry is delaying families’ access to SNAP food benefits.  During the pandemic, federal regulations prohibited states from removing people from Medicaid, and more than 5 million Texans were able to access healthcare continuously. But these protections lifted in April and the state quickly began rechecking the eligibility of every individual in the program. In the months since the state launched this “unwinding,” hundreds of thousands have lost Medicaid coverage.  While some individuals have become ineligible because their incomes increased or they were children who aged out of the program, a majority — more than 600,000 — have been disenrolled in Texas because of procedural errors, according to KFF, a health policy research organization. This includes everything from sending in applications in the mail a day late to not including the correct documentation. view article

WASHINGTON — Key federal legislation to support farmers and consumers could get delayed due to the looming government shutdown, causing uncertainty for agriculture and nutrition programs in Texas.  The must-pass package of legislation known as the farm bill, which is reauthorized every five years, is critical to funding a wide range of programs that include providing crop insurance and loans to farmers and food access to low-income families.  Traditionally a testament to bipartisanship in Congress, meeting the Sept. 30 deadline to pass the bill is seemingly impossible as lawmakers are preoccupied with averting a government shutdown. In lieu of passing a new version of the farm bill, Congress is expected to extend the deadline, keeping in place the current version of the law for as long as a few weeks to several months.  But that temporary fix delays critical updates for the agriculture industry. view article

The must-pass package of legislation known as the farm bill, which is renewed every five years, funds critical crop insurance and loans to farmers and food to low-income families.  Key federal legislation to support farmers and consumers could get delayed due to the looming government shutdown, causing uncertainty for agriculture and nutrition programs in Texas.  The must-pass package of legislation known as the farm bill, which is reauthorized every five years, is critical to funding a wide range of programs that include providing crop insurance and loans to farmers and food access to low-income families.  Traditionally a testament to bipartisanship in Congress, meeting the Sept. 30 deadline to pass the bill is seemingly impossible as lawmakers are preoccupied with averting a government shutdown. In lieu of passing a new version of the farm bill, Congress is expected to extend the deadline, keeping in place the current version of the law for as long as a few weeks to several months.  But that temporary fix delays critical updates for the agriculture industry. view article

On October 3, Aldine is embarking on an exciting new partnership with the USDA to launch an educational program at 13 elementary campuses. This collaboration comes from these Aldine schools being selected by TDA to receive the USDA grant for the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program, an initiative designed to increase children’s fresh fruit and vegetable consumption in economically disadvantaged areas. Notably, Aldine hasn’t been selected for eight years, and the last time it was extended, it benefitted just two of our schools. This expansion signifies a remarkable opportunity for reinforcing our commitment to the health and well-being of our students, reflecting our dedication to providing them with the best possible education and nutrition. view article

With a waiver from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Frisco ISD will continue to offer free meals to students in Frisco through July 22. Any Frisco student, including those enrolled in charter, private and homeschool, is eligible to receive five days of breakfast and lunch each week. Advanced registration is required. view article

Curbside meals will resume Wednesday, January 20. Meals will not be served on Monday, January 18 due to the holiday. Free school meals for ALL Humble ISD students extended through May 28, 2021 All Humble ISD students, regardless of meal eligibility (free, reduced, or full paid), will continue to receive one breakfast meal and one lunch meal per school day at NO COST for the remainder of the 2020-2021 school year. view article

Beginning Dec. 7, Fort Bend ISD will provide grab-and-go meals for students two days a week instead of daily, according to a Dec. 1 press release from the district. FBISD will also begin offering dinner meals for pickup. On Mondays, families will be able to pick up breakfast, lunch and dinner for Monday through Wednesday, and on Thursdays, meals will be available for Thursday through Saturday. view article

Beginning June 3, Curbside Grab and Go meal service will continue under the National School Meal Program through July 28. At the specified locations, distribution of five breakfast and five lunches is available to any child age 18 or younger every Wednesday. NO applications are needed for summer meals but the child must be present. view article

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Starting April 6, students at the Amarillo Independent School District will have new options when it comes to meal and internet service. According to a release issued Friday, the district will now hand out breakfast and lunch from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., replacing the prior 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. breakfast pickup. view article

The Houston Independent School District announced on Wednesday that it had received approval from the United States Department of Agriculture and the Texas Department of Agriculture to waive the required application process for the National School Lunch/Breakfast Program. "All HISD students will eat all school meals for free during the 2017-2018 school year," the district said in a release Wednesday morning. Families still need to apply for this waiver though. view article

Fort Bend ISD is going to begin serving up something different for some students who continually fail to pay for their lunches -- a cold cheese sandwich with a side of milk, and that's not sitting well with some parents. We're not talking about students who qualify for free school meals. But apparently, these repeat offenders have gotten so "forgetful" that it's draining the district's budget by hundreds of thousands of dollars. view article

Because of a federal rule, kids throw away millions of dollars of fruits and vegetables every single day at school. But a new study shows a simple, no-cost trick that should leave federal policy makers saying, “Why didn’t I think of that?” When recess takes place before kids sit down to eat – instead of after - fruit and vegetable consumption increases by 54%. view article

Beaumont Public Health director Sherry Ulmer says West Brook High School cafeteria workers did not want old sandwiches to rot outside during the Beaumont Independent School District Thanksgiving week-long break, since they were not sure when the trash would be collected.  view article