On the Road ...
As we travel to the various food banks, we thought
we'd provide a brief recap.
Austin, Capital Area Food Bank of Texas, June 18, 2008
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| David Davenport, Capital Area Food Bank President and CEO, Kirk High, Mrs Baird's Regional Sales Manager |
After
a scenic drive through the Texas Hill Country, we arrived in Austin.
We were once again pleased to wake up early to accommodate early morning
newscasts. This was the first time in the Pass The Bread tour that
a TV station came to the food bank for lives broadcasts. Reporter Bettie
Cross of KEYE 42 (CBS) did four live segments during their morning
news. VP of Communications Kerri Qunell and Pres. and CEO David Davenport
also joined us for these morning TV segments. A couple of these interviews
showed the food bank's Bread Room. It was completely empty—not for
long. Later that morning, we delivered the first delivery of 3,000
loaves of bread. Throughout the summer, the Capital Area Food Bank
in Austin will receive a total of 25,000 loaves of fresh Mrs Baird's
bread. We are also dedicating an additional 10,000 loaves of bread
to the food bank's agencies in the Waco area. The Pass The Bread team
will host a special event for these agencies next week at our Waco
bakery.
Abilene, Food Bank of West Central Texas, June 17, 2008
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| Jody Houston, Food Bank of West Central Texas Executive Director; David Gentry, Mrs Baird's District Sales Manager |
We were greeted at the Food Bank of West Central Texas with a great message on their marquis welcoming the Pass The Bread caravan to Abilene. Executive Director Jody Houston and all of her staff arranged a wonderful day of events for the Mrs Baird's team. We woke up early and appeared on three television morning newscasts.
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| Bill and June Dent with Abilene Baptist Social Ministries |
Then we went to load the Pass The Bread truck with 3,000 loaves of fresh Mrs Baird's bread from our Abilene bakery. This is the first delivery of a total of 10,000 loaves dedicated to the Food Bank of West Central Texas. When we arrived at the food bank for the Pass The Bread press conference, at least a dozen agencies were there waiting to take home the bread. Bill Dent and his wife June were with one of the agencies on hand. Their organization, Abilene Baptist Social Ministries, use bread every day. Normally, they purchase their bread. But this summer, they will receive weekly deliveries of fresh Mrs Baird's bread at no charge. Not only is this bread helping feed the hungry in the Abilene area, we are seeing that it will also put an ease on the spending budgets of the food bank's agencies.
Wichita Falls, Wichita Falls Area Food Bank, June 12, 2008
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| Jerry Martin, Director of Sales; Jack Miller, District Sales Manager; Mary Stengel, Wichita Falls Area Food Bank Executive Director; Michelle Schuster, Wichita Falls Area Food Bank Operations Manager; Mike Richter, District Sales Manager; Barbara Anderson, Texas Food Bank Network Executive Director |
If you ever get the change to donate to The Wichita Falls Area Food Bank, go deliver your donation in person so you can meet the wonderful people there. Mary Stengel, Michelle Schuster, Wendell Griffin (forklift operator extraordinaire), and all of the others at the food bank made us feel very welcome. The Wichita Falls television and print media attended the Pass The Bread event. Then the food bank staff began transferring 1000 loaves of fresh Mrs Baird's bread from our plastic bread trays to cardboard boxes—ready to send to agencies. Within a mere matter of minutes, all of the bread was boxed and picked up by agencies. Once again, we see the Mrs Baird's bread in one door and right out another on its way to dinner plates that evening. For the next two months, we'll deliver 500 loaves of fresh Mrs Baird's bread each week to the food bank allowing them to feed the hungry through the rest of the summer. Even though the Wichita Falls Area Food Bank is one of the smallest food banks we'll visit, they have a big vision with future plans to dramatically expand their building and their outreach to the hungry in North Central Texas. We look forward to returning to see their progress.
Lubbock, South Plains Food Bank, June 11, 2008
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The South Plains Food Bank in Lubbock operates a little differently than the other food banks we've visited. In addition to providing food and supplies to their member non-profit agencies, they also distribute food/supply boxes to individuals who come to the food bank (with a valid voucher from a food bank agency). Therefore, we not only got to see fresh Mrs Baird's bread go to agencies, but we also saw families and individuals in need come to the food bank.
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| South Plains Food Bank agencies form a line behind the Pass The Bread truck to collect their fresh Mrs Baird's bread |
In every food box, food bank workers placed two loaves of Mrs Baird's bread. "This will make a lot of pb&j sandwiches this week," one man told us. "This is a special treat for us, " another mentioned. These are real-life examples of how Pass The Bread is helping feed the hungry in our communities. We would like to thank the great employees, volunteers and board members of the South Plains Food Bank for helping plan the Pass The Bread event. We look forward to providing the food bank with 400 loaves of fresh bread every week until November.
Amarillo, High Plains Food Bank,
June 10, 2008
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| Roger Poe, Regional Sales Manager; Janie Singleton, High Plains Food Bank Executive Director; Bryan Raney, District Sales Manager |
Our visit to the Panhandle got an early start. The Pass The Bread caravan visited three television stations for their morning newscasts. Following a large cup of coffee, we arrived at the High Plains Food Bank to begin setting up for our Pass The Bread event. In addition to the local news media, we were honored to have Texas State Representative David Swinford and representatives from State Rep. John Smithee in attendance.
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| High Plains Food Bank agencies form a long line to pick up fresh Mrs Baird's bread |
Read about our travels in April and May