When Feeding Your Neighbors Becomes Personal | Hannah Beall | Ep. 71

From Splitting Hairs with Tab Salsman · 01:18:21

Show by TAB SALSMAN

A family can be working, paying bills, and still not know how they’re going to afford groceries.That is one of the realities behind the work of Central Texas Food Bank. The people who need help include military families, college students, older adults, and parents trying to keep food on the table for their children. Their circumstances may be different, but the next meal still has to come from somewhere.Hannah Beall understands that uncertainty from both sides.Growing up, her family relied on food assistance. She remembers stretching ingredients, cooking meals, and waiting for a grocery checkout line where nobody would recognize her using a Lone Star Card. Her family needed help. Being seen needing it was something she wanted to avoid.Today, Hannah is the Garden Manager at Central Texas Food Bank, helping grow fresh produce for people facing circumstances she remembers.In the chair with Tab Salsman, she opens a window into an organization whose work reaches far beyond collecting canned goods. Through its network across 21 Central Texas counties, the food bank connects neighbors with groceries, rescues food that might otherwise be discarded, helps people navigate benefits, and teaches families how to turn available ingredients into meals.At its on-site market, people can choose food their families will actually eat. Fresh vegetables from Hannah’s farm can be harvested that morning and taken home that day. Cooking demonstrations help make an unfamiliar ingredient feel like something worth bringing into the kitchen.For someone who remembers the discomfort of asking for help, those details carry weight. Having choices. Being welcomed. Leaving with food you know how to prepare.Hannah’s childhood gives her a personal connection to the families this work supports—and to the difference that support could have made when she was younger. Growing food to give away lets her help people who are standing where she once stood.The conversation also brings the work within reach: volunteering, helping distribute groceries, spending a morning on the farm, or finding a nearby food resource for someone who needs it.How many people around us are struggling to buy food without ever saying a word?Central Texas Food Bank works to reach those neighbors. Hannah helps grow what they take home, carrying a memory of what it felt like to need it herself.FIND HANNAH & CENTRAL TEXAS FOOD BANKHannah Beall: https://www.instagram.com/hcfhannah/Central Texas Food Bank Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ctxfoodbank/Website: https://www.centraltexasfoodbank.org/Find food near you: https://www.centraltexasfoodbank.org/get-helpVolunteer: https://www.centraltexasfoodbank.org/get-involved/volunteerSPLITTING HAIRS WITH TAB SALSMANExplore the episodes: https://www.splittinghairspodcast.com/episodes/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/splittinghairspod/Contact: [email protected]:00 Hunger in Central Texas00:43 Meet Hannah Beall02:12 The food bank's mission07:37 Serving 21 counties09:06 Who needs food assistance?12:11 Groceries with dignity15:14 Food rescue19:44 Cooking classes27:36 Community funding29:49 Chefs and fundraising34:00 Learning to cook37:51 Growing up on food assistance40:53 A 10-acre organic farm42:36 Growing food to give away43:01 Kids and food48:50 Finding meaningful work50:23 How to volunteer52:30 Food dates and waste55:16 Mobile food distributions56:43 Fresh Harvest Farm59:46 A community ripple effect1:00:41 Kids and volunteering1:05:33 Access to food assistance1:08:49 Families falling through cracks1:12:28 Find Food Now1:14:24 The Empty Bowl ProjectThe views expressed are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect those of their employers or affiliated organizations.

More episodes of Splitting Hairs with Tab Salsman

More episodes

podsearch is a free, independent podcast search engine. Read about podsearch, the privacy policy or contact us.