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Food Pantry of Jeff Davis County Year-End Report 2014

Food Pantry of Jeff Davis County will now provide Valentine clients with the same “choice” shopping experience enjoyed by its Fort Davis clients generously funded by Permian Basin Area Foundation. With the assis-tance of Valentine Mayor Jesus “Chuy” Calderon and the Valentine City Council, the Pantry will now lease, at no cost, part of the Valentine City Hall next door to the Community Complex. Shelves, refrigerators and freezers along with a new A/C unit and water heater, have been installed, and other necessary repairs have been made to safely store and distrib-ute food.

Until now, Valentine clients have received pre-bagged foods without the ability to choose foods that fit their specific diets, their children’s tastes or

their cultural preferences. Fort Davis clients have had the ability to choose from among items stocked on the shelves, just as in any grocery store. Even with fewer food options than a grocery store, studies show

that clients of “choice pantries” eat better, waste less food, and are able to make meals they enjoy when they can choose foods for themselves.

Don’t miss our Grand Opening event!

Food Pantry of Jeff Davis County alleviates hunger and promotes healthy eating for residents in need.

Valentine, TX, 2/14/15; 2:30 p.m.; 109 N. Main St., Valentine, TX Immediately before the Big Bend Brewery’s Valentine Bash

Distributions: 9-11 a.m., 2nd & 4th Saturdays January-October; 1st & 3rd Saturdays November-December 609 Compromise Street, Fort Davis, and 109 N. Main Street, City Hall, Valentine

P.O. Box 244, Fort Davis, TX 79734 • 432-426-3886 • Email: info@foodpantry-jdc.org • Website: www.foodpantry-jdc.org

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Food Pantry of Jeff Davis County Year-End Report 2014

FOOD PANTRY STRATEGIC PLAN RELEASED DECEMBER 2014 With the assistance of an Anonymous Donor, the Board of Directors is participating in the strategic planning process with consultant, Suzette Ashworth of Fort Davis. Board Members believe that a three to five year plan is critical for continuing success in providing crucial basic food services to residents of our County.

Five primary goals were identified for implementation in 2015 and 2016. They are:

Goal 1: Expand and sustain the “Healthy Food, Healthy Lives” initiative by providing more fresh items to Pantry clients in Fort Davis and Valentine. Goal 2: Establish and sustain the Valentine Choice Pantry for its twice-monthly distribu-tion to enable Pantry clients in selecting their own food items. Goal 3: Ensure the financial strength of the Food Pantry. Goal 4: Create a more informed community motivated to take action regarding hunger and ‘food insecurity’ in Jeff Davis County. Goal 5: Create additional management infrastructure to support a strong organization.

To receive a copy, email info@foodpantry-jdc.org, call 432-426-3886 or find it at www.foodpantry-jdc.org/.

Pantry clients - children, elderly, veterans, people with disabilities, the working poor - now receive healthy and wholesome foods that promote better overall nutrition and an increased sense of well-being. Because of YOUR donations and with our foundation partners, Pantry clients, especially school age children, receive more fruits and vegetables, whole grains and quality proteins. 122 school age children from 81 families are in our school lunch program. 48% of the County’s school children live in food insecure families and de-pend on the Food Pantry for lunch foods.

The Children’s School Lunch Program helps fill the gap made by the absence of cafeterias and federal lunch programs in

our County’s ISDs. Healthy Food, Healthy Lives makes it possible for our kids to pack

healthy lunches with more fresh fruits, whole grains and wholesome proteins to keep them focused and sharp during the

school day. Fresh and healthy food choices for school lunches.

Be a P.A.L.! - “Pack A Lunch”

You can support one child in need for a full year of healthy lunch food choices - for only $240.00. Please join us to ensure that each child has a nutritious school lunch - shown to help children focus in school and learn what they need to know

in this challenging world. Your entire donation will be used to purchase more wholesome lunch choices for more productive lives.

OR support a family for one year at $270.00. Please use the enclosed envelope or go online to www.foodpantry-jdc.org and click on “Donate”.

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Food Pantry of Jeff Davis County Year-End Report 2014

During the strategic planning process, 86 people in the community, including Pantry clients, were interviewed. These are quotes from several of those.

"I have to choose between feeding my kids and paying utilities. I could not make it without the food pantry." "It must be really hard to be a single mom raising a couple kids alone-glad we have the Food Pantry and the thrift shop."

“I get $365 a month in food stamp benefits for my family of 4 – we cannot eat on that for a full month. This is all we have to spend on food. Without the food pantry my kids and I would go hungry for about a week out of every month.”

FACTS:

48% of the County’s school children live in food-insecure fam-ilies and depend on the Food Pantry for lunch foods.

The monthly number of children receiving school lunch foods in 2014 increased from 55 in January to 78 in December!

The Food Pantry provides supplemental food for about 20% of our County’s residents.

The average client household income is below the poverty line, and the average size of client households is 2.8 persons.

An estimated 80% of client households have at least one person who is working. Of that 80%, 10% work two jobs.

The Pantry delivers its services with only one part-time employee and many dedicated community volunteers.

The Pantry purchased 95,739 lbs. of food in 2014!

See the charts at right. Are YOU or is someone you know eligible for supplemental food?

2014 Poverty Guidelines for the 48 Contigu-ous States and the District of Columbia

Persons in family/household

MONTHLY Income guideline

1 $973

2 1,311

3 1,650

4 1,988

5 2,326

6 2,665

7 3,003

8 3,341

Each additional member +339

FYI!

Eligibility Guidelines for FOOD PANTRIES.

Persons in family/household

MONTHLY Income guideline

1 $1,800 2 2,426 3 3,051

4 3,677

5 4,303

6 4,929 7 5,555 8 6,181

Each additional member +625

With the support of the

the Brenda & John Bell Distribution Center is now equipped with three new refrigerators and three new

freezers! A thorough inventory revealed that the existing units were 7 to 10 years old and were leaking, rusted, or energy inefficient. In addition, the Healthy Food, Healthy

Lives program, which brings in more fresh and frozen foods, required additional efficient and reliable storage

space.

Thank you, Yarborough Foundation!

FORT DAVIS LOCATION GETS COLDER!

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Food Pantry of Jeff Davis County Year-End Report 2014

OUR VOLUNTEERS OUR EVENTS Steps Toward Health, a program of Healthy Food, Healthy Lives, focuses on eating your way to a healthier life. We offer free testing for diabetes, blood pressure and cholesterol. Kids can enter the poster contest to win prizes! Lots of healthy, delicious treats, too!

July 4: “Coolest Fourth of July” is our opportunity to be as American as apple pie! The annual pie baking contest attracts some of the best bakers in the area. Eat dessert first!

“Wheels/Heels for Meals”, 1st Saturday of October: Bike riders and walkers participating in this annual event raise over half of what the Pantry spends on food annually. The bike route includes the beautiful Davis Mountains vistas and walkers enjoy the local beauty in Fort Davis! The event attracts local and non-local participants and sponsors.

Big Wheels DUNCAN, BRESSLER & LIU, INC FRED JONES FAMILY FOUNDATION

MARGARET O’DONNELL & RICK HERRMAN

Spokes Person DAVIS MOUNTAINS DISPATCH KING LAND & WATER

PACE & ASSOCIATES PEYTON’S BIKES VICKIE & RICK STAFF

Pedal Pusher ALPINE AVALANCHE CYNDEE & TOM BARNES COME & TAKE IT BBQ BIG BEND REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER CDRI LANNA & JOE DUNCAN

FORT DAVIS VETERINARY SERVICES BETH & LARRY FRANCELL DAN & JOYCE O’DONNELL TEXAS MOUNTAIN REALTY

TWIN PEAKS LIQUORS

I Walk the Line BELLAMY DESIGNS BIG BEND TELEPHONE BULLSHIRTZ

CRUM LAND & MINERAL HIGH DESERT YOGA FORT DAVIS STATE BANK DAVIS MOUNTAINS NUT COMPANY IRIS KORUS, DD

TEXAS MOUNTAIN TRAIL

The Harvest Bowl, 2nd Sunday of November: We hear our soup supper has become a family tradition marking the beginning of the holiday season. Pottery bowls and other items by local artists are available for purchase and in the silent auction. Our homemade soup dinner with bread and dessert is the best holiday value!

Volunteers!- community members like you - donate over 1400 volunteer hours every year to the Food Pantry. Volunteers contribute REAL WORK making it possible for the Pantry to suc-cessfully carry out its mission. Our volunteers are enthusiastic, dedicated to alleviating hun-ger, and highly reliable. In 2014, we instituted our Volunteer Training and Appreciation Lunch-eon to give our volunteers the tools they need to be successful in their many tasks. WE THANK YOU ALL!! BRENDA BELL VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR AWARDS 2013: Susan and Jerry Pittman, part time residents of Fort Davis, spend two Saturdays each month when they are here, driving the 88-mile round trip to Valentine to deliver food for distribution. They have become so dedicated to Valentine clients that they have volunteered to “do what-ever it takes” to get the “choice pantry” there underway! Janet Greathouse is a long-time resident and beloved local veterinarian. Janet seldom miss-es assisting clients at bi-monthly distributions, putting her Spanish language skills to very good use! Janet, who is a volunteer EMT, also organized our first health fair, Steps Toward Health, attended by over 50 people. BRENDA BELL VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR AWARDS 2014: Melanie and John Pace. When Melanie Pace joined the Board of the Directors as treasurer in 2011, she jumped right in to help out in all the Continued next page

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Food Pantry of Jeff Davis County Year-End Report 2014

OUR GENEROUS DONORS IN 2014 Anonymous Donor Carl B. and Florence E. King Foundation

Permian Basin Area Foundation The Fasken Foundation Shield-Ayres Foundation Yarborough Foundation

Continued from page 4 fundraisers. She and her husband John helped set up the tent for the Coolest Fourth event; she joined the Wheels for Meals as a rider; and even baked cookies for the Harvest Bowl. No longer a board member, she and John continue to support the Food Pantry by donating the Pantry’s yearly tax preparation. Shawn Zimmerman is one of those people who takes any job seriously and goes over-board to get it done correctly. She works hard at assisting any person or family who needs extra help. She anticipates questions and needs even before they are spoken. Shawn helps unload the truck deliveries, pack up the Valentine commodities and assists with the Saturday distributions. Shawn and her smiling face are there whenever needed. Thank you and all our volunteers for making it

possible for the Food Pantry to provide supplemental food to those who need it.

Janet Greathouse

Jerry and Susan Pittman

$1,000 and over Donald & Paul Tyree Memorial Fund

Duncan, Bressler & Liu, Inc. First United Methodist Church

G.L. Franks Fred Jones Family Foundation

Roseland Klein John Kobza

Patty & Robert Martin Margaret O’Donnell & Rick Herrman

Lana & Robert Potts Robert Rice

Leroy Salcido Catherine Shetrone

Joe Skinner Bonnie Whiteis

$500 - $999 Michael Bebbington

Edgar Duncan First Presbyterian Church Amanda & Roy Frazier

Theresa Guenther & Charles Mayer Laura & Clarence Johnson

King Land & Water Steve Loden Tom Looney

Maggie & Mike McCollum Mountain Dispatch

Pace & Associates Peyton’s Bikes

Joni & Tim Powers Shelton Site Grading L.L.C.

Karen & Jonathan Shew Bruce Spurlock

Vickie & Rick Staff William P. Wright, Jr.

$250 - $499 Alpine Avalanche

John & Betty Avant Cyndee & Tom Barnes

Big Bend Regional Medical Center

Joshua & Elizabeth Burns Come & Take It BBQ

Dallas Foundation Desert Storage

Stacey & Ted Doyle Lanna & Joe Duncan

Sherill Easterling Marc & Maryann Eastman First Presbyterian Church

Fort Davis State Bank Fort Davis Veterinary Services

Beth & Larry Francell Kevin Grace

Janet Greathouse David Ham

Carla & Steve Kennedy Sondra & James Lynch

Maxwell Moon Deborah & Mike Murphy Joyce & Daniel O’Donnell

Melanie & John Pace Renee & Larry Parson Susan & Jerry Pittman

Judith Ann Reichelderfer Jeff Smith

Texas Mountain Realty Twin Peaks Liquors

Ellen Weinacht Mary West

Kathie Woods

$100 - $249 Anne Adkins

Stephen & Judith Alton Suzette Ashworth

Diane & Andy Berentine Karen & Kevin Bark

Joel Barna Yolanda Belazi

Bellamy Designs Walter Belt

Big Bend Telephone Big Bend Title L.L.C.

Connie Buchanan Bullshirtz

Carol Buttler Mary Jane Buttrill

Laura Capper Steven Cardiff Michael Carter

Malcolm Chesney Mary Chovanec

Cliff House Studio David Crum

George & Theresa Damm Due & Don Davidson

Davis Mountains Nut Co. Richard Draheim

Teresa Elliot Eric R. Epstein

Karen & Mark Evard Mary Fenton

Fort Worth Bicycling Assoc. Kathy Gibson

Peggy & Allen Gilcrest Richard Greth Marty Hansen

Elaine & Fred Harmon

Tex Harrison Sara Haynes

Linda & David Hedges High Desert Yoga

Anna Highnote Katherine Holloway

Kathy Hutto Alice & John Jennings

Iris Korus, DDS Madge Lindsay

Susie & Hal Loden Fullerton Luedde

John Mathews Dennis McGuire Nancy O’Brien

Jacqueline M. O'Donnell Louise O'Donnell Mary O'Donnell

Paula O'Hara Jackie Poole

Bettiann Prude Linda Reay Leo Rice

Tim Roberts Pam & Paul Rohlfs

Donald & Lucy Sheffield Harry A. Shetrone

Jonathan & Karen Shew Joyce Slaughter

Diana Smith Paul Szendrey Judy Thomas

Tulsa Community Foundation

And Many More! Thank you all!

Shawn Zimmerman

Melanie and John Pace

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Food Pantry of Jeff Davis County Year-End Report 2014

2014 Income Statement and 2015 Projected Budget

Food Pantry of Jeff Davis County Year-End Report 2014

2015: The Food Pantry was very fortunate in 2014 to receive several generous grants to be used for Healthy Food, Healthy Lives, new equipment at the Fort Davis location and to install the Valentine “Choice Pantry”. As you see above, over 40% of our Foundation funds in 2014 were non-recurring special projects, and equipment upgrades where funds received were specifically designated for those purposes. In 2015, we do not anticipate funding for special projects, but we do have the ambitious goal of increasing our food expenditures by nearly $10,000 bringing food purchases to 60% of our total budget. In 2015, we will carry over designated grant funds received in 2014, and we’ll receive the second instal-lation of funding for our Strategic Planning. In late December, 2014, the Pantry received a $10,000 grant from Shield-Ayres Foundation for food purchases in 2015, also included in the carry forward to 2015. Our goal is to raise an additional $10,000 from foundations to continue funding the Healthy Food, Healthy Lives program, bringing more fresh and wholesome foods to our clients’ tables and school lunches. In 2015, individuals like you will be equally crucial to ensuring that our shelves have adequate healthy choices for our poorest residents while we experience an increase in school children and rising food costs (see pages 3&7). In the new year, we will raise the salary for the second time of our half time Executive Director and hire a quarter time Distribution Coordinator for Valentine. The Board set a five year plan to bring the Director’s sala-ry to a wage that is fair and competitive in our local marketplace. We remain dedicated to that plan. Please join with us again to help the Food Pantry carry out its mission to alleviate hunger and promote healthy

eating for our neighbors in Jeff Davis County.

Actual 2014 Budgeted 2015 WHERE THE MONEY COMES FROM Foundation Grants Designated special projects 26,000 1,170 Designated food programs 25,000 10,000 Undesignated grants 10,450 15,000 Total Foundation Grants 61,450 26,170 Individual contributions 36,995 35,000 Corporations/Organizations 8,032 7,000 Other income 760 750 Total Grants and Contributions 107,237 68,920 In-Kind Contributions 7,307 3,000 Total Income to be raised 114,544 71,920 Carry-forward from 2014 Foundation grants 20,924 TOTAL INCOME 114,544 92,844 WHERE THE MONEY GOES Food Programs 45,966 55,250 Miscellaneous Expenses 6,035 8,302 Equipment Expenses 10,126 750 Fund Raiser Expenses 2,318 2,500 Salaries 12,421 16,522 Professional Services 1,294 1,750 Utilities 4,080 4,400 Contract Labor 2,720 1,500 Strategic Planning 6,750 1,870 TOTAL EXPENSES 91,710 92,844 Net Income 22,834 0 Carry-forward from 2014 Foundation Grants 20,924 0 Reserves 1,910 0

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Food Pantry of Jeff Davis County Year-End Report 2014

Volunteer:

organize and distribute food complete everyday maintenance

organize and carry out fund raising events join the Board or a committee

Donate:

organize a food drive donate canned goods and non-perishable items

donate online at www.foodpantry-jdc.org. sponsor W/Heels for Meals

Have fun! Participate in and attend one or all of our annual events: buy raffle tickets, make soup, ride a bike!

To get started call Tex Harrison at 432-426-3886.

2014 Board of Directors

Karen Shew, President Anne Adkins, Vice President Susan Penney, Secretary Margaret O’Donnell, Treasurer Janet Greathouse, DVM Nash Traylor Executive Director: Tex Harrison

Population: 2,253 Hispanic: 34.5% White not Hispanic: 62% Living below Poverty Line: 13.2% Children under 18 in poverty: 22% The Fort Davis and Valentine school districts

Age 17 and under: 20.1% Age 65 and older: 28.5% Nearly one-half of our County’s population comprises children and those over 65. Nearly 1/4 of our children live in poverty.

have no cafeterias and no federal lunch program.

INTERESTING JEFF DAVIS COUNTY INFORMATION

Food donations are accepted during any distribution day - from 9:00 to 11:00 on the second and fourth Saturday, January through October and the first and third Saturday, November and December. Donations may be mailed to P.O. Box 244, Fort Davis, TX 79734 or made online at our website. The Food Pantry of Jeff Davis County is a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization. All gifts are tax deductible.

Since 1998, the Food Pantry of Jeff Davis County has been offering supplemental food to about 20% of the families in the County.

FOOD COSTS ARE RISING

FEEDING AMERICA, a national nonprofit organization, receives food from the US Department of

Agriculture (USDA) and purchases food from manufacturers at below wholesale. Feeding America then SELLS food to 200 Food Banks across the country. The Food Pantry of Jeff Davis County, along with 80 other West Texas pantries, partners with the West Texas Food Bank (WTFB) in Odessa to PURCHASE food. USDA foods are substantially less expensive than the foods WTFB purchases from manufacturers and are becoming more and more scarce due to the many external factors influencing costs of food around the country. Food banks and food pantries are having a harder and harder time finding affordable foods to keep up with the need. The Food Pantry of Jeff Davis County purchases USDA food as often as possible whenever it is available from WTFB. More and more, the Pantry is forced to purchase the more expensive foods bought directly from manufacturers by the Food Bank and from our local grocers. Crucial dollars, identified for fresh and healthier foods, are now required for the basic staples and canned goods. The Food Pantry BUYS food with private contributions from people like you. Thank you for your sup-port of the programs that feed your poorest neighbors.

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Food Pantry of Jeff Davis County Year-End Report 2014

Put i t on your calendar now! Saturday, October 3 , 2015

WALK, RUN, RIDE,VOLUNTEER OR SPONSOR!!!

Food Pantry of Jeff Davis County P.O. Box 244 Fort Davis, Texas 79734