By Jennifer Dorsett
Field Editor

When DeWitt County Farm Bureau (CFB) heard about the Texas Farm Bureau (TFB) Feeding Texas Co-op Contribution Program, the board of directors had an idea.

“We weren’t sure our plan would work, but we were very hopeful because we had a special opportunity to really do some good,” Warren Seidel, DeWitt CFB board member, said.

The plan was to leverage the TFB grant with another program provided by a local non-profit, the Cuero Community Foundation (CCF).

TFB’s Feeding Texas program is a matching grant that provides county Farm Bureaus additional funding to pair food banks and other food-relief entities with local restaurants and caterers, helping area residents and businesses during this unprecedented time.

CCF released a similar matching grant program aimed at giving the three area food banks a much-needed cash infusion in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The plan worked, and DeWitt CFB was able to double their donation amount by using the TFB grant, then double it again by using the CCF grant.

“There are three food banks in our county—one in Cuero, another in Yoakum and one in Yorktown,” Seidel said. “They’re all facing increased distribution right now, so we wanted to do everything we could to help out.”

The area is not only feeling the economic effects of the pandemic, Seidel noted, but the recent crash in oil prices has dramatically affected many families’ income as widespread layoffs ensued.

“The oil and gas industry has a big impact on our economy,” he said. “So, there are a lot of people really hurting right now between the virus outbreak and the downturn in the oil market. When you see families in your own community lining up to utilize the food bank…helping the food banks provide for people is very important to us. So, we thought if we can combine those two grants and really make a difference, that was a no-brainer for us.”

DeWitt CFB made a total donation of $2,000 to Cuero Area Ministerial Alliance (CAMAL) House of Cuero, Yorktown Assistance Ministries (YAM) and Yoakum’s First Baptist Food