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Sustainable Food Center

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Sustainable Food Center

SFC's mission is to transform the food system to nourish our health, land, and livelihood.

Founded in 1993, with roots dating back to 1975 as Austin Community Gardens, Sustainable Food Center is involved in every step of our local food system.

01/08/2026

|| Did you know carrots are sweeter after cold weather?🥕+❄️=🍬 It’s not magic, it’s nature! Carrots protect themselves from freezing temperatures by converting starch in their cells into sugar.

Similar to the way salt melts ice on sidewalks, sugar acts like antifreeze for carrot cells by lowering the freeze point of water in the vegetable.

Don’t believe us? Stop by SFC Farmers' Market Downtown (422 Guadalupe St.) or at Sunset Valley (Jones Rd.) Saturdays 9 AM - 1 PM and taste test winter carrots for yourself!

01/06/2026

Just before the holidays, SFC joined forces with our long-time partner Wheatsville Food Co-op to provide 450+ Central Texans with FREE fresh winter produce. ❄️Thanks to bountiful fresh fruits and veggies from Wheatsville Food Co-op, SFC was able to provide each recipient with one bag of fruit and one bag of veggies, totaling nearly 1,000 produce bags distributed!

When November SNAP benefits were delayed due to the government shutdown, Texans experienced an increase in food insecurity. Though benefits were issued by mid-November, this public distribution event gave family food security a boost toward not only surviving but thriving. 💚

Thanks to the SFC and Wheatsville team members and our supportive community for championing fair access to fresh food for every Texan.

01/01/2026

Happy new year! We have an exciting announcement to kickstart your 2026 resolutions: Sustainable Food Center (SFC) is honored to be the nonprofit beneficiary for this year’s Statesman Capitol 10,000 ! 🏃🏃‍♀️

Donations made by race registrants will support our work transforming the Texas food system through fair access to local food. Through SFC programs like Double Up Food Bucks Texas, which double SNAP benefits for fresh fruits and veggies, we’re racing toward a Better Food Future. How’s that for motivation?

Register today at the link in bio before the next fee increase on Jan. 12: https://www.cap10k.com/ A big thank you you to all the race sponsors, and special thanks to presenting sponsor Baylor Scott and White, and sponsors and SFC Tito's Handmade Vodka and H-E-B.

12/31/2025

Today is the LAST day of Sustainable Food Center’s (SFC) 50th anniversary year and the LAST day to make a donation to SFC that will be matched by The Austin Wine & Food Foundation. 🎆✨Give today: https://bit.ly/SFCHolidayDonation2025

Your gift to SFC is an investment in Cultivating a Better Food Future. Over the past five decades, SFC has grown from a single community garden in Austin to a statewide leader in systems-level change that increases fair food access and supports small farmer livelihood.

The success of our program Double Up Food Bucks Texas, which doubles SNAP benefits to buy more fresh fruits and veggies at over 100 participating farmers’ markets and grocery stores, is your success.

Thanks to everyone who has already given to support our work transforming the food system. If you haven’t given yet, consider ending 2025 with a gift that will make a positive impact on Texas families and farmers: https://bit.ly/SFCHolidayDonation2025 💚

12/30/2025

2025 was a year of uncertainty for many Texas families and farmers. Thanks to support from donors like you, SFC remained a resource Texans could rely on amidst food price inflation and the longest government shutdown in history.

Your support allows SFC to act fast in rapidly changing policy landscapes — Donate today: https://bit.ly/SFCHolidayDonation2025 💚Here are just a few of the impacts you made possible this year:

🥬 Uninterrupted nutrition education courses from The Happy Kitchen / La Cocina Alegre, which provides participants with FREE groceries at every class

🛒 Three produce bag distribution events that put money in farmers’ pockets and food on families’ tables

🧑‍🌾 The launch of a temporary relief program, Double Up Fresh Bucks / Dólares Frescos at over 40 Texas farmers’ markets

From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for supporting SFC. Will you make a gift to ensure we can continue to nourish Texas health, land, and livelihood in the new year? When you donate by tomorrow December 31, your donation will be matched by The Austin Wine & Food Foundation for double the impact.

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.

Address

2921 E 17th Street, Bldg C
Austin, TX
78702

Opening Hours

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

Website

http://sustainablefoodcenter.org/

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