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Monday 9am - 5pm Tuesday 9am - 5pm Wednesday 9am - 5pm Thursday 9am - 5pm Friday 9am - 5pm

http://sustainablefoodcenter.org/

Sustainable Food Center, 2921 E 17th Street, Bldg C, Austin, TX (2025)

12/25/2025

Merry Christmas! Pecan pie is a holiday favorite, but did you know this is also a history lesson in a nutshell? 🤠

Native to North America, pecans are a traditional food for many indigenous people, including tribes in present-day Texas. (Via American Indians in Texas - Spanish Colonial Missions, article: https://aitscm.org/news/coahuiltecan-native-foodways-series-pecans/.) “Pecan” comes from the indigenous Algonquian* word for nut and was introduced to English by the French (pecane) via the fur trade.

Pie recipes were widespread across Europe when colonists arrived in the Americas, so it was only a matter of time before local ingredients made it into this versatile pastry. Plenty of settlers were incorporating pecans into their cooking, but the majority of early pecan pie recipes come from Texas cookbooks in the late 1800s and early 1900s. (Via ) No wonder Texans are so good at pecan pie!

*There are many dialects of Algonquian languages spoken by distinct but culturally connected Algonquin tribes including Shawnee, Cree, Ojibwe, and more.

12/24/2025

Nutrition is a powerful gift. 🎁 After Sarah’s older sister was diagnosed with breast cancer, she enrolled in Cooking After Cancer to learn how to support her sister through food. Targeted nutrition courses like Cooking After Cancer are made possible by donors and community members like you.

In class, Sarah learned, “When you’re going through cancer, you’re not necessarily eating in a ‘normal’ way. One of the first things we made was Rice Pudding, and it was just like this perfect little hug,” Sarah said. “Some of the days I would talk to my sister and she wasn’t feeling up to eating, I envisioned that if it were me, this is something that would fuel me in my heart and also in my tummy.”

Give the gift of relevant nutrition to more families like Sarah’s by donating to SFC today: https://bit.ly/SFCHolidayDonation2025 When you donate by December 31, your donation will be matched by The Austin Wine & Food Foundation for double the impact.

12/23/2025

With all the festivities and gift giving this time of year, grocery budgets can be tight. Good news: shoppers spending WIC benefits receive TRIPLE their monthly benefits for fresh fruits and veggies SFC Farmers' Market. The market is OPEN this Saturday, Dec. 27. 💚💜🧡

is available at both SFC Farmers' Market locations (Downtown and at Sunset Valley) all year long. There is no limit to the number of times you can triple WIC, so come back monthly to spend benefits on fresh, local food. You’ll receive your multiplied WIC in Double Up Food Bucks, which never expire. So buy what you need and save some for later!

Spend your regular monthly WIC benefits on any WIC-eligible items including meat, eggs, and dairy, and spend your tripled benefits on fresh fruits and veggies. Stop by the market info booth to triple your benefits and talk to a crew member about how works.

12/22/2025

Looking for a last minute gift for the foodie in your life? 🎁 Tickets to SFC’s Farm to Plate featuring Chef Laila Bazahm (Siti Austin and El Raval Tapas Bar) are currently available at early bird prices! Buy your early bird ticket: https://e.givesmart.com/events/KZ1/

From her Spanish fusion restaurant El Raval Tapas Bar to her latest venture Siti Austin, Chef Laila is an advocate for fresh ingredients and the power of food to connect and transform us. Opened just this year, Siti has already been added to the Texas and included in Austin Monthly’s Best New Restaurants. We can’t wait to see what Chef Laila brings to the table at Farm to Plate 2026! 😋

Every year, Farm to Plate brings together Austin’s culinary stars for a six course meal in support of SFC’s work. Don’t miss your chance to enjoy food from esteemed chefs like Chef Laila on April 30, 2026 while being part of transforming the food system to nourish Texas health, land, and livelihood.

12/20/2025

Thanks to support from people like you, SFC’s The Happy Kitchen / La Cocina Alegre® has equipped participants with the confidence to prepare nutritious meals with fresh, local ingredients for over 25 years. 🥬👩‍🍳https://bit.ly/SFCHolidayDonation2025

Confidence in The Happy Kitchen® is about so much more than information. “You’re not just getting nutrition education, you’re also getting the community of the other participants,” said Deirdre Anderson, SFC Chief Development Officer.

The support, conversations, and gatherings in a community are key to long-term nutrition. 🤝 Targeted nutrition courses like Cooking After Cancer, Eating Well With Diabetes, and What’s the Soul in Our Food bring together participants and facilitators with shared life experiences to share tips and tricks for meeting nutrition and health goals.

Your support for SFC ensures we can continue offering nutrition education and expand SFC programs to new communities in the years to come. 💚

Will you join us in nourishing Texas families to Cultivate a Better Food Future? Donate today and before December 31 for your gift to be matched by The Austin Wine & Food Foundation for double the impact: https://bit.ly/SFCHolidayDonation2025

12/18/2025

Season’s howdy, Texas! 🤠🎅 Remember to spend your $30 value Double Up Fresh Bucks / Dólares Frescos by December 31 Double Up Fresh Bucks / Dólares Frescos are available to anyone in need of food access support at over 40 markets across the state. 🎁 Click the link or visit our stories to see a full list of participating markets: https://bit.ly/480e3hb

Spend Double Up Fresh Bucks / Dólares Frescos on ANY food or drink item at participating farmers’ markets. No restrictions, no sign up necessary.

When you spend Double Up Fresh Bucks / Dólares Frescos at your local farmers’ market, you’re supporting small-farmer livelihood and your local economy. Supplies of Double Up Fresh Bucks / Dólares Frescos are limited; once markets run out, the temporary program ends at that market location.

12/16/2025

Good nutrition is an important school supply. ✏️📚 That’s why Sustainable Food Center (SFC) worked with Head Start Lubbock and West Texas farmers during the government shutdown to provide bags of farm-fresh produce, eggs, and meat to 140 families of students and staff. Not only did this event provide brain food for the next generation of Texas leaders, it also put money in the pockets of local farmers. That’s a WIN WIN.

In total, SFC provided families:
🍎 200 lbs. of apples
🧅100 lbs. of onions
🫑 100 lbs. of peppers
🍅100 lbs. of tomatoes
🥚100 dozen eggs
🥩 200 lb. ground beef

“Access to nutrient-dense foods plays a critical role in children’s learning and development by supporting brain growth, strengthening immunity, and improving focus in the classroom. By helping families bring balanced meals to the table, this partnership directly contributed to healthier households and better outcomes for the children we serve,” said Elizabeth Therwhanger, Head Start Education & Professional Development Manager.

Thanks to Faith2Farm Market Garden, Juicy Lucy's Veggies / Idalou Harvest Co., E3 Farm, Frontier Market LLC, Ranchers Store Front- On the Square, and Murphy Family Farms for providing farm-fresh foods!

12/15/2025

As the year comes to a close, Sustainable Food Center (SFC) is reflecting on the triumphs and challenges of 2025. Your support for our work made it possible to continue serving Texas families and farmers during the longest government shutdown in US history. https://secure.qgiv.com/for/fy25aha/

Donors like you allowed SFC to:

🍏Continue offering free cooking and nutrition education from The Happy Kitchen / La Cocina Alegre®

🍏Launch Double Up Fresh Bucks / Double Up Dolares Frescos, an emergency relief program supporting food security and farmer income

🍏Answer questions from the community in real-time through SFC’s bilingual Help Desk

Will you donate to Cultivate a Better Food Future? Your support ensures we can continue to offer SFC programs without interruption in a quickly changing environment. 🙏 Donate today: https://secure.qgiv.com/for/fy25aha/

When you donate by December 31, your gift will be matched by the The Austin Wine & Food Foundation for double the impact.

12/12/2025

You’re invited! Pick up a FREE bag of fresh, seasonal fruits and veggies next Thursday, December 18 from 10 AM - 2 PM at Wheatsville Food Co-op South (parking lot of 4001 S Lamar Blvd, Austin, TX). 💚 Bags are limited and only available while supplies last.

Está invitado! Recolecte una bolsa GRATIS de frutas y verduras frescas y de temporada el jueves próximo, 18 de diciembre de 10 AM - 2 PM en Wheatsville Food Co-op ubicación sur (estacionamiento de 4001 S Lamar Blvd, Austin, TX). 💚 Bolsas limitadas y disponibles solo hasta agotar existencias.

12/11/2025

Ever wonder what a superhero sounds like? 📞🦸🏽‍♀️ When you call SFC’s bilingual Help Desk (English & Spanish), you hear from real-life heroes, the SFC Community Health Worker / Promotora de Salud team. As we near the end of 2025, the Help Desk has some truly heroic numbers to report!

🔢Help Desk Calls Accepted: 2299 (Jan. 2025-Nov. 2025)

🔢Help Desk Team Members: Five Bilingual Promotoras

🔢Texas Regions Served: Four (Central Texas, West Texas, North Texas, Rio Grande Valley)

🔢Key Events Promoted: Three (Your SNAP X 5, Double Up Bag Day, WIC Mobile Unit at SFC Farmers' Market at Sunset Valley)

Promotoras answer questions and take feedback from the community, helping SFC keep our programs community-led. The care, knowledge, and communication skills Help Desk team members put into every call makes a positive difference in the community. From the SFC team, THANK YOU!

Call the Help Desk at (512) 730-1807 for bilingual information about Double Up Food Bucks Texas, WIC Programs, and resources in your area.

12/10/2025

Just THREE DAYS til SNAPmas! 🎁 This Saturday, December 13, we’re celebrating the season with Your SNAP x 5 at SFC Farmers’ Markets Downtown and at Sunset Valley. If you receive SNAP benefits, we’re multiplying them by FIVE up to $150 for you to buy more fresh, local food. 🥬🥬🥬🥬🥬

Your regular SNAP benefits are good for any SNAP-eligible items (bread, eggs, meat, etc.) and your multiplied Double Up Food Bucks are for fresh fruits and veggies. When you spend your SNAP at Farmers Market, you’re making a positive difference in the local food system and supporting farmer livelihood. 💚

No registration needed! Just bring your SNAP EBT / Lonestar card to the market info booth, receive your Double Up Food Bucks, and start shopping! Double Up Food Bucks never expire, so spend some Saturday and save some for starting the new year with fresh, local food.

12/08/2025

Texas Grapefruit’s Family Tree 🌲 – Texas grapefruit varieties came about through a combination of planning and luck. In fact, prized varieties like the Ruby Red and Rio Star grapefruits were accidental mutations!

By the early 1900s, South Texas was full of citrus groves. In the orderly rows of trees including pink and white grapefruit varieties, nature began to get creative. 🎨 A natural mutation produced the first Ruby Red variety in 1929, and Texas producers didn’t waste any time before planting whole groves of the darker, sweeter variety.

A mutation on a single Ruby Red tree in 1985 yielded the even sweeter Rio Red, named for the region of its origin, the Texas Rio Grande Valley. ❤️ Texas citrus, which is grown only in the tropical climate of South Texas, was valued at $84 million in 2024 with a total economic impact of $300 million for the state of Texas.

like the Rio Red grapefruit depend on balancing supply and demand with the resources available, and Texas citrus farmers face uncertainty about the future of water resources to keep the citrus industry afloat. Follow along all December for more on the history and future of Texas citrus, and don’t forget to SHOP LOCAL for your citrus this winter!

12/03/2025

After a feast like H-E-B’s Feast of Sharing, we’ll be thankFULL all year! At Feast of Sharing, we enjoyed connecting with our community in Austin and celebrated HEB’s generous $10,000 donation to Sustainable Food Center (SFC). 🎉

THANK YOU to HEB and everyone supporting SFC this giving season! Now more than ever, donor support is vital to build our resilience in an environment where policy and funding changes can impact the SFC community and our programs overnight.

HEB’s contribution supports our work transforming the food system throughSFC programs like Double Up Food Bucks Texas, which connects Texans to nourishing local food they can afford, and The Happy Kitchen / La Cocina Alegre®, which provides the cooking and nutrition resources communities need to enjoy farm-fresh food. ♻️

12/02/2025

Happy GivingTuesday! Your gift to Sustainable Food Center (SFC) is an investment in fair access to fresh, local food and nutrition resources for every Texan. 💚

Each family and community is unique, and so are their nutritional needs. That’s why SFC’s free cooking and nutrition education program The Happy Kitchen / La Cocina Alegre® offers targeted cooking and nutrition courses like Cooking After Cancer, Eating Well With Diabetes, and What’s the Soul in Our Food.

Your gift this holiday season—no matter the amount—creates a ripple effect on health and healing. Will you support nourishing Texas families? Give today https://bit.ly/SFCHolidayDonation2025

Your donation helps:
- Provide free ingredients for families to practice recipes at home.
- Ensure families have tools to cook and share nourishing meals all season long.
- Offer The Happy Kitchen / La Cocina Alegre® Cooking After Cancer courses for community members.
- Provide critical support to our community, including farmers and families on SNAP and WIC programs.

12/01/2025

❌ Marks the Spot — The Ruby Red Grapefruit originated in the Texas Rio Grande Valley almost 100 years ago. 🧡👶 Native to the Caribbean, grapefruit was brought to Texas by Spanish missionaries in the late 1800s. Though grapefruit thrived in the South Texas climate, 1800s white and pink grapefruits were very sour and not too popular.

About 40 years after grapefruit was introduced to Texas, an RGV farmer discovered a mutant branch producing red grapefruit on a pink grapefruit tree. The red grapefruit, soon named Ruby Red, was sweeter than any other variety on the market, and marked the beginning of the modern Texas grapefruit market.

Find out what happened next as we explore 🪙 all December long and read more about the Ruby Red via Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service: https://bexar-tx.tamu.edu/homehort/archives-of-weekly-articles-davids-plant-of-the-week/the-history-of-texas-grapefruit/

Photo credits on photos.

11/27/2025

Thankful is an understatement! Last weekend, our community came together for Double Up Market Bag Day, a free produce distribution event at SFC Farmers' Market where we gave 200 bags of farm fresh food away! 💚 Each bag came with a $25 H-E-B gift card and a voucher for market eggs.

In total, SFC purchased over $7,000 in farm goods from local producers including egg vouchers, fresh greens from The Refugee Collective, greens, root veggies, and peppers from Animal Farm, turnips from Sun and Moon Farm, mushrooms from Hi-Fi Mycology, butternut squash from Engel Family Farms, cucumbers from Flintrock Hill Farm, peppers from B5 Farm, and extra veggies from Texas Food Ranch and Emadi Acres Farm. Farmhouse Delivery also generously donated 200 pounds of apples! 🍎

Sustainable Food Center (SFC) hosted Double Up Market Bag Day to support access to fresh food and income for farmers following a difficult six weeks during the government shutdown. We are truly grateful to our funders including H-E-B, Tito's Handmade Vodka, and grant funders for supporting Texas families and farmers.

11/25/2025

The countdown is on: ONE WEEK until ! We need your support to continue offering programs like The Happy Kitchen / La Cocina Alegre®, which provides FREE cooking and nutrition education to Texas families. 👩‍🍳

When you or a loved one is diagnosed with a chronic illness, nutrition is an essential tool in managing health. That’s why The Happy Kitchen/ La Cocina Alegre® offers targeted nutrition courses like Cooking After Cancer and Eating Well With Diabetes.

For Sarah, Cooking After Cancer provided skills and knowledge to support her sister during treatment for breast cancer and connected her with a class full of people who understood what her family is experiencing, because they are experiencing it, too. 💚

Will you support families like Sarah’s accessing the nutrition tools they need? Your donation sustains The Happy Kitchen / La Cocina Alegre®and helps us offer courses in new communities. Thanks to the generosity of our The Austin Wine & Food Foundation, gifts made before December 31 will be matched up to $25,000. Read Sarah’s story and donate today: https://secure.qgiv.com/for/fy25aha/

Together, we can transform the food system so every Texan has access to local food and nutrition resources.

11/21/2025

Big news from our friends Wheatsville Food Co-op: shoppers paying with SNAP receive a 💲75% discount💲 on fresh and frozen fruits and veggies until December 31, 2025! This additional discount is only available at Wheatsville Food Co-op’s two locations in Austin .

When the government shut down, SFC and our community partners stepped up. 💚 Thanks to Wheatsville for adapting the Double Up Food Bucks Texas program to make an even bigger impact as families and farmers continue recovering from the government shutdown.

Questions? Call SFC’s bilingual Help Desk at (512) 730-1807 for information about this special offer at Wheatsville and other food access resources near you.

11/20/2025

Fresh at SFC Farmers' Market: Pick up $30 in Double Up Fresh Bucks / Double Up Dólares Frescos at both SFC Farmers' Market locations to spend on any food or drink this weekend! 💚

How to Participate:
1️⃣ Visit SFC Farmers' Market Downtown or at Sunset Valley
2️⃣ Stop by the market information booth
3️⃣ Ask to receive Double Up Fresh Bucks / Double Up Dólares Frescos
4️⃣ Shop the market

Did you know that every $1 in SNAP benefits provides essential AND generates up to $1.80 in economic activity? (via Harvard Kennedy School) The government shutdown is over, but Texas families who rely on SNAP to put food on the table and farmers who earn income by accepting SNAP for payment are still feeling its effects.

That’s why Sustainable Food Center created Double Up Fresh Bucks / Dólares Frescos, a temporary relief program that provides market dollars for shoppers to buy any food or drink item.

ANY market shopper affected by loss of services and/or income due to the government shutdown can receive Double Up Fresh Bucks / Dólares Frescos. Double Up Fresh Bucks / Dólares Frescos expire on December 31, 2025.

Funding for Double Up Fresh Bucks / Dólares Frescos is limited and will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Learn more about Double Up Fresh Bucks / Dólares Frescos: https://bit.ly/480e3hb

11/18/2025

📍Austin – Join SFC for HEB Feast of Sharing next Tuesday, November 25 4-8 PM at Palmer Events Center! We can’t wait to connect with our community and take part in this community Thanksgiving feast! 🙏🍽️

Feast of Sharing is free and open to the public. Stop by the SFC table to learn more about our programs like Double Up Food Bucks Texas, which DOUBLES your SNAP benefits for more fresh fruits and veggies.

Thanks to our H-E-B for hosting and for all they do to support food access and community care in Texas.

11/14/2025

When Sarah, a mom of two, discovered Sustainable Food Center’s (SFC) The Happy Kitchen / La Cocina Alegre®’s Cooking After Cancer class, she felt a moment of clarity and hope. ““It felt like a lightning bolt—I thought, ‘That’s me! That’s what I’ve been searching for,’” Sarah said.

Following her sister’s breast cancer diagnosis, Cooking After Cancer gave Sarah tools to support her sister through her cancer treatment and her whole family through proactive nutrition. 💚

Cooking After Cancer is one of several FREE cooking and nutrition education courses offered by The Happy Kitchen / La Cocina Alegre® that give Texans the skills and knowledge to manage their health through fresh, local nutrition.

Will you help more Texas families find the nutrition resources they need? Your gift to SFC this holiday season supports The Happy Kitchen / La Cocina Alegre® reaching more families like Sarah’s. Give today: https://secure.qgiv.com/for/fy25aha/ 💝

Thanks to the generosity of our partner The Austin Wine & Food Foundation, every donation made by December 31 will be matched, doubling your impact.

11/13/2025

Sustainable Food Center is excited to announce the launch of Double Up Fresh Bucks / Double Up Dólares Frescos, a temporary relief program to support families and farmers affected by the federal government shutdown. 💚 The government is reopening and benefits will soon be distributed, but many families are still facing gaps in access to food and income.

Double Up Fresh Bucks / Double Up Dólares Frescos provides $10-30 to use on any food or drink at 42 participating markets in Texas. Double Up Fresh Bucks / Double Up Dólares Frescos are available to any market shopper affected by loss of services and/or income due to the government shutdown. All Double Up Fresh Bucks / Dólares Frescos expire on December 31, 2025.

How to participate:
1️⃣ Visit a participating market (list https://bit.ly/4oGbo3i and slides 5-10)
2️⃣ Stop by the market information booth
3️⃣ Ask to receive Double Up Fresh Bucks / Double Up Dólares Fresco
4️⃣ Shop the market

Funding for Double Up Fresh Bucks / Dólares Frescos is limited and dollars will be issued on a first-come, first served basis. Learn more about Double Up Fresh Bucks / Dólares Frescos: https://bit.ly/4oGbo3i

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Sustainable Food Center (SFC) está emocionado por lanzar Double Up Fresh Bucks / Dólares Frescos, un programa temporal para apoyar el ingreso de agricultores y el acceso a alimentos para familias afectadas por el cierre de operaciones del gobierno. 💚

El programa Double Up Fresh Bucks / Dólares Frescos brinda $10-30 en vales de mercado para que los clientes compren cualquier comestible en 42 mercados participantes en Texas.

Cualquier cliente afectado por falta de servicios o ingresos debido al cierre de operaciones del gobierno podrán recibir vales llamados Double Up Fresh Bucks / Dólares Frescos. El Dólar Fresco vence el 31 de diciembre de 2025.

Cómo participar:
1️⃣ Venga un mercado participante (lista https://bit.ly/4oGbo3i y páginas 5-10)
2️⃣ Visite el puesto de información del mercado Double Up
3️⃣ Solicite el Double Up Fresh Bucks / Double Up Dólares Fresco
4️⃣ Haga sus compras!

Los fondos para Double Up Fresh Bucks / Dólares Frescos son limitados y se otorgarán por orden de llegada. Aprende más sobre Double Up Fresh Bucks / Double Up Dólares Fresco : https://bit.ly/4oGbo3i

11/10/2025

Farm visit to Lowlands Farm 🚜🌱 When Farmer Alice moved from Seattle to Austin, agriculture became a way to put roots down in the community, literally!

Collaborative farming programs like the Farmshare Austin Farm Incubator are a creative solution to
✅support affordable access to land for small-scale farmers
✅create a farmer support network
✅ & produce delicious, nutritious food.

Thanks to the Farm Incubator program at Green Gate Farms, Alice connected with other Austin farms like fellow incubator Mud Nap Farm.

Shop Lowlands Farm at SFC Farmers' Market at Sunset Valley (3200 Jones Rd.) every Saturday 9 AM - 1 PM for a selection of leafy greens, herbs, roots veggies, and more.

11/04/2025

📍Brownsville is hub for Texas culture and food systems leaders in the Rio Grande Valley. Sustainable Food Center (SFC) is proud to partner with Latinx Voces in support of the VOCES Health Summit & Cultural Festival 2025!

Join on 📅 Nov 6 in downtown Brownsville for ☀️ a health summit by day and🌙 festival by night : one inspiring day uniting Latino health, culture, and community! Register: https://givebutter.com/ltxsummitfest-2025🎟️

11/03/2025

From monarch butterflies 🦋 to Canadian geese 🪿, it’s migration season in Texas! In addition to nourishing Texas communities, regenerative Texas farmers support migrating wildlife. How? Big hint: BUGS! 🪲

🌱GROUNDCOVER🌱

Regenerative farming and ranching prioritize soil health by covercropping between harvest or on uncultivated land. Grasses, grains, and native flowering plants provide food for pollinators and habitat for insects. Migrating birds and other wildlife depend on healthy insect populations for food on their journey.

The insects that live in the groundcover at True Bird Farm feed the chickens, too!

🌱PESTICIDES / HERBICIDES🌱

When dragonflies, butterflies, and other migratory insects stop to refuel, chemical insecticides reduce their chances of a successful journey and herbicides reduce habitat to rest and eat. By using organic pest control that targets crop pests, regenerative farmers leave water and non-crop plants available for traveling wildlife.

Pedernales River Farm uses beneficial insects like ladybugs and assassin bugs to control crop pests.

When you eat regeneratively produced food, each bite nourishes you, Texas land, and the wildlife we share our state with.

Sustainable Food Center