The Central Texas Food Bank of Austin recently received an 11,000 pound donation of Texas rice, which will be used to feed those in need, on behalf of the Western Rice Belt Production Conference committee in light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
The donation was purchased with funds collected for the 2021 Western Rice Belt Production Conference that were not needed after event officials decided to hold the event virtually due to the pandemic. Money that would have been used to obtain an event location and provide attendees with meals were instead used for the donation.
âCOVID-19 has certainly drawn more attention to food security, and the enormous infrastructure and workforce responsible for creating a safe and reliable food supply,â AgriLife Extension Agent Corrie Bowen said via a press release. âThis was a great opportunity to bring rice to the table to our friends in Austin.â