88R16429 TBO-D
 
  By: Leach H.R. No. 893
 
 
 
R E S O L U T I O N
         WHEREAS, Proud members of Feeding Texas are gathering in
  Austin to celebrate Texas Food Bank Day at the State Capitol on
  April 13, 2023; and
         WHEREAS, Established in 1986, the Feeding Texas network
  consists of 21 food banks that work through more than 4,000
  community agencies to reduce hunger and improve health in all 254
  Texas counties; and
         WHEREAS, To further these goals, the network has fostered
  many public-private partnerships, including the Texans Feeding
  Texans Surplus Agricultural Products Grant Program, which helps
  provide food to low-income families by offering incentives to
  growers to donate fresh produce that would otherwise be left in the
  field; this initiative offsets the costs of harvesting, packaging,
  and transportation and has resulted in the distribution of 350
  million pounds of surplus produce across the state; and
         WHEREAS, Members of Feeding Texas have also established a
  partnership with the Texas Health and Human Services Commission to
  improve the diets of low-income Texans by offering nutrition
  education and disease prevention services; and
         WHEREAS, By leveraging their expertise and experience,
  members of Feeding Texas respond to families in need swiftly and
  effectively when crisis strikes; Texas food banks delivered one
  billion pounds of food during the first year of the COVID-19
  pandemic; and
         WHEREAS, Network members have partnered with the Texas Health
  and Human Services Commission to provide client education and
  application assistance for the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance
  Program, greatly increasing the efficiency of the
  eligibility-determination process; and
         WHEREAS, By facilitating the distribution of surplus food,
  responding to disaster, raising awareness about good dietary
  practices, and helping to prevent diet-related disease, Feeding
  Texas is reducing hunger and contributing greatly to the health and
  well-being of the people of Texas; now, therefore, be it
         RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 88th Texas
  Legislature hereby recognize April 13, 2023, as Texas Food Bank Day
  at the State Capitol and extend to the staff and volunteers of
  Feeding Texas sincere best wishes for continued success in their
  important work; and, be it further
         RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be
  prepared for Feeding Texas as an expression of high regard by the
  Texas House of Representatives.