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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Rebecca Robinson
The Wine & Food Foundation of Texas
512-327-7555 (office) or 512-350-4621 (cell)
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The Wine and Food Foundation of Texas Awards $20,000 Grant to Sustainable Food Center
Farms, Foods and Healthy Futures Program to benefit from grant
AUSTIN, Texas – (April 28, 2006) The Wine and Food Foundation of Texas presented a $20,000 check to the Sustainable Food Center (SFC) on Friday at the grand opening of a mid-week Farmer’s Market branch in East Austin at Plaza Saltillo (5th and Comal). The check was presented as part of the The Wine & Food Foundation of Texas’ 2006 Grant Award Program.
This competitive, statewide Grant Award Program was first launched last year. It was created to support and encourage innovation and education within the culinary and viticulture arts. Up to $25,000 is available annually and the program is open to all Texas residents, businesses or organizations. Thus far, four grants have been awarded, totaling over $90,000.
The current winner, the Sustainable Food Center, was created in 1993 with the mission of creating a food secure community by improving access to local, healthy, and affordable food for children and adults in Central Texas. Seeking to provide long-term solutions to hunger and diet-related diseases, SFC programs benefit the community through a variety of innovative methods. These include providing instruction on gardening practices, the coordination of affordable farmer’s markets, and demonstrations in schools and churches on preparing nutritious, healthy meals. The SFC impacts over 20,000 Central Texans each year.
“ The Wine & Food Foundation grant award will be directly used for SFC’s Farms, Foods and Healthy Futures Program which helps in part, to fund the Austin Farmer’s Market,” stated Ronda Rutledge, Interim Executive Director. “We’re thrilled to be uniting with another food-based organization concerned with the quality and accessibility of our food sources and the eating habits of our communities.”
The Austin Farmer’s Market unites the Central Texas food network with the public every Saturday throughout the year at Republic Square Park. Dozens of local farmers and vendors provide fresh fruits, vegetables, meats, cheeses, eggs, and plants to the public. In addition to the fresh-grown food, there are chef demonstrations, children’s activities, and live music.
“ This grant is a natural fit with our mission,” Quincy Adams Erickson stated, a Foundation Board member and longtime friend of the Sustainable Food Center. “The SFC is about healthy, nutritious food, which goes into preparing healthy, nutritious meals, which in turn builds healthy lives and strong communities. The positive impact that the SFC has on schools, communities and our local farmers is truly amazing. We’re very proud to support their good work.”
Past Foundation grants include a children’s bilingual nutrition pilot, Papi’s Kitchen, in addition to the development of a national web-based system used by farmers for diagnosing grapevine diseases. The Foundation also awarded $25,000 to KLRU-TV for the production of a film documentary produced by award-winning producer and director Tom Spencer, “The Wine Roads of Texas”. The film is based upon Wes Marshall’s definitive guide on the Texas wine industry.
The Foundation will accept applications for the 2007 grant cycle beginning in October of this year. Applications will be available this fall on the Foundation’s website www.winefoodfoundation.org <http://www.winefoodfoundation.org/> . Donations and memberships to the Foundation can also be submitted via the Foundation website or by calling the Foundation directly at (512) 327-7555.
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