Austin Eats: sowing and growing a healthier community

The purpose of Austin Eats is to synergize the efforts of the organizations already trying to improve Austin’s food access ecosystem.


About the Austin Eats Initiative:

WHY?

Only 55.4% of Austin’s residents report having easy access to fruits and vegetables.*

OUR PLAN

Austin Eats is working to change the food landscape and rewrite the narrative around food in Austin by focusing on:

Emergency Food Access:

By convening and collaborating with the many food pantries, soup kitchens, and pop-up food distributions that operate in Austin, this initiative aims to distribute 200 more boxes of healthy food to families each month through a more established delivery system.

Grocery Access & Culinary Entrepreneurship:

Last year, the Farmer’s Market as managed by Forty Acres Fresh Market through the city’s Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events was a valuable resource for residents. Over the next two years, Austin Eats aims to increase the number of market customers from around 50 to as many as 150, and to double the number of vendors.

Food Education:

Austin Eats will host a series of film screening events focused on healthy food. They will include discussions and cooking demonstrations, and hope to attract 200 attendees per event.

Gardens & Farms:

A new community garden will be built in northeast Austin, while efforts to support a year-round hydroponic farm and 20+ existing community gardens is also a focus.

Marketing:

Increasing awareness of Austin Eats and the work it involves will be a challenge, but it is essential in helping this initiative succeed.

Want to help? Make a donation here.

We are a diverse group of stakeholders that have come together with an holistic approach to achieving long-term sustainable change. Austin’s 90,000+ residents currently only have two full grocery stores available for a community that is Chicago’s largest community area in size. And with the pandemic, Austin’s bare-bones emergency food infrastructure was exposed.

Ways to address the challenges in Austin are outlined in the Austin Forward. Together. plan, a set of goals created by and for the community designed to utilize 23 strategies with 84 total actions to improve seven issue areas by the year 2023: Community Narrative, Education, Housing, Youth Empowerment, Economic Development, Public Safety, and Civic Engagement.

The Austin Eats Initiative was born out of the Community Narrative (CN) issue area in Austin Forward. Together., which describes the community’s desire to revitalize the image and spirit of Austin by creating environments that foster health and wellness and promote healthier food choices across Austin. This community-led effort was made possible through the collaboration of the Christopher Family Foundation, Lumpkin Family Foundation and The Builder’s Initiative.

These funders united to create the Austin Fresh Fund in an effort to explore what it would mean to support greater access to healthy food in the Austin community on Chicago’s West Side—a key strategy in Austin Forward. Together. They pooled a pledged $1 million in grant funds and have awarded resources to several of the organizations involved in the Austin Eats Initiative.

While the Austin Eats plan spans a five-year timeline, organizers are concentrating the first year’s efforts on uniting the various groups already touching parts of this work; crafting a cohesive plan that will stand the test of time; and implementing strategies for successful execution. Click here to read more about Austin Eats and how this work is addressing the food apartheid in Austin.

QUESTIONS?

To learn more about Austin Eats or Austin Forward. Together., contact Grace Cooper, AFT Lead Organizer, at Austin Coming Together: gcooper@austincomingtogether.org.

*Source: chicagohealthatlas.org