Sustainable Food Center Receives $50,000 United Way for Greater Austin Grant to Close Gaps in Food Access
AUSTIN, Texas — Sustainable Food Center (SFC) has received a $50,000 Community Investment Grant from United Way for Greater Austin, a regional effort designed to improve how organizations connect individuals and families with health, nutrition, and social service resources. This grant builds upon a decade of intentional collaboration, with SFC actively advancing referral networks and community navigation in Central Texas since 2016.
Through Connect2Thrive, backboned by United Way for Greater Austin, SFC partners with healthcare providers, nonprofit organizations, and social service agencies will build a Community Information Exchange (CIE). A CIE serves as a community-governed infrastructure that enables information to be effectively and responsibly shared across multiple organizations in support of person‑centered care coordination and systems of change. This closed-loop approach reduces the burden on individuals navigating complex social safety nets, allowing providers to track outcomes and connect Texans directly to services such as housing, healthcare, or food access.
According to Sayuri Yamanaka, Senior Community Engagement and Advocacy Manager at Sustainable Food Center, participation in the Community Information Exchange (CIE) will strengthen SFC’s internal capacity for secure and responsible data sharing by helping the organization build the infrastructure, systems, and agreements needed to protect client privacy while improving care coordination across partner organizations. “This work marks an important milestone for our organization, helping us develop the processes and agreements needed to protect clients’ privacy while providing a more holistic understanding of their needs and connecting them to the resources that can best support them.”
The funding will also support SFC’s statewide Help Desk, which has served as a vital community lifeline since 2019. Improved information exchange will enable SFC to identify service gaps, strengthen navigation support, and design programs specifically for the “gap” population, people who do not qualify for traditional benefit programs, but still face steep barriers to consistent food security.
“The trust we have with community partners comes from recognizing that food access is never an isolated issue"
Yamanaka noted that participation in the CIE will help SFC better understand the factors that influence why people engage with food access programs and how those needs intersect with other areas of daily life.
By gaining a more holistic understanding of participants’ needs, SFC can strengthen coordination with organizations addressing related challenges. As Yamanaka noted, “The new opportunity involves working with partners in a bigger way. These partners offer different services and understand how food access connects to all their work.”
That collaborative approach extends beyond Travis County through a network of partners serving communities across Williamson County, the Greater Austin region, and rural areas of Texas. Through this initiative, SFC joins Lone Star Circle of Care and Foundation Communities as one of the core organizations piloting Central Texas’ first Community Information Exchange (CIE). Together, the three organizations identified food access as the pilot’s primary focus area.
Jessica Venson, Associate Vice President of Strategic Navigation Programs at United Way for Greater Austin, emphasized the importance of the pilot’s focus on food access:
“Right now, when an agency refers a client to a food pantry or SNAP, they rarely learn whether that client was served or if they received enough food. We are thrilled that Connect2Thrive’s first pilot is focused on closing this gap. Through shared infrastructure, partners will confirm when a client successfully receives food support, identify the barriers preventing access when they don’t, and work together to ensure people’s needs don’t fall through the cracks. Bringing together trusted organizations through a year-long referral pilot, Lone Star Circle of Care, Foundation Communities, Sustainable Food Center, and United Way are pairing that foundation of relationships and shared accountability with infrastructure needed to make it happen.”
A cornerstone of the initiative is resident leadership and trust-building. SFC ensures community voices remain central by working alongside trusted local leaders, including promotoras and former program participants who now serve as educators, and Help Desk specialists.
“For us, it's incredibly important that people understand our programs are designed to promote dignity and choice. This project is about much more than connecting someone to a single resource. It’s about understanding the full picture of a person’s circumstances, identifying where existing systems leave people behind, and building new pathways to ensure that everyone, including those who might otherwise fall through the cracks, has access to meaningful support and opportunities to thrive.”
About SFC Help Desk
Six days a week, our dedicated SFC Help Desk, staffed by friendly and knowledgeable promotoras (community advocates), offers real-time information to communities across Texas in both English and Spanish.
Our team is committed to ensuring you have the information and resources you need to make the most of local food programs and benefits. Whether you need information on local food programs, using SNAP and WIC benefits, or accessing fresh, nutritious food for your family, our dedicated team is here to support and guide you every step of the way. Don’t hesitate to reach out—we’re here to help!
- Call us: (512) 730 – 1807
- Hours: Monday – Saturday from 9 AM – 12 PM
About Sayuri Yamanaka
Sayuri was born in Mexico, in the central region of the Chichinautzin corridor. She actively participates with the Central Texas Mexican-Native American groups. Sayuri enjoys building authentic relationships that facilitate conditions for the well-being of the place and the people. She holds a Master’s Degree in Environmental Science. Her primary role at SFC is assisting and facilitating community partnerships to nourish our health, land, and livelihood.