Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples today announced $2 million in grants is available for non-profit organizations to purchase excess produce resulting from overproduction. The funds are available through the Texas Department of Agriculture’s Texans Feeding Texans: Surplus Agricultural Products Grant Program , which awards non-profit organizations funds to purchase and donate agricultural products to food banks or any charitable organization that feeds hungry Texans.

“Many Texas families are challenged right now, and they’ve turned to local food banks for support,” Commissioner Staples said. “This grant program will assist our state’s food banks in offering families a helping hand during these tough times.”

Organizations interested in the Texans Feeding Texans: Surplus Agricultural Products Grant Program can submit proposals for up to $1 million per year if they have been assisting charitable organizations for at least five years. Last year, the Texas Food Bank Network was able to acquire and distribute 10.2 million pounds of food to Texas families, thanks to this program.

Applications must be submitted by August 17. For more information about the program or to apply for the grants, contact Mindy Fryer at (512) 463-6908 or grants@TexasAgriculture.gov.

More on Hunger in Texas

• Nearly one in five Texas adults and one in four children are food insecure . (source: Capital Area Food Bank of Texas)

• Texas has the third highest rate of food insecurity in the country. (source: USDA and Food Research and Action Center)

• From 2005 to 2007, 14.8 percent of Texas households, or 1.2 million people, did not have access to enough food to fully meet basic needs at all times; during this same time period, 23 percent of Texas children were also food insecure. (source: Feeding America)