Food Connects Us

A food system is the interconnected network of everything that happens with food — where and how it is grown, processed, distributed, sold, consumed, wasted, or recovered.

Food nourishes us. We believe our food system is essential to the economic, physical, mental and social well-being of our community. To positively impact our Bastrop County residents’ health outcomes, we are focused on 6 sectors or key influence areas of our food system.

As a mostly rural county in our five-county metro region, many mistakenly believe that Bastrop County is a significant producer of local food. While there are Bastrop County farms that do supply area farmer’s markets and restaurants, the fact is only 5.3 % of the food grown in Bastrop County is being sold in local markets (USDA Agricultural Marketing Service #).  Nourish hopes to help increase that percentage through the work of our initiative and the work of the residents of Bastrop County.* 

If this work is something that you’re passionate about, scroll down below and click on the Join the Coalition button. We also have a Coalition Survey linked at the bottom of our page under the Get Involved header. This survey is action oriented for those that have specific skills, expertise and projects they’d like to see the coalition work on. 

For those looking for resources, we have a community calendar that lists the food pantries, free hot meals, farmers markets, farms, etc. that you can click on at the bottom of the page. We will also have seasonal recipes as we evolve and grow. Stay tuned for more information!

Mission Statement:  To collectively create a healthier, more sustainable, and just food system to improve the lives of people in Bastrop County and surrounding communities.

Vision Statement: We envision a community based effort that brings together food cycle stakeholders and community members of varying cultures, tastes and budgets to create a sustainable food system that can nourish us today and for generations to come.

Get Involved

Nourish is working on building its member capacity, identifying areas of need, and prioritizing community projects. We envision a community-based effort that brings together food cycle stakeholders and members of varying cultures, tastes and budgets to create a sustainable food system that can nourish us today and for generations to come. If you’re interested in this kind of work, please fill out the survey by following the link below. This survey is designed to get the right folks working in sectors of interest that are most meaningful to them.

Want to join us? We meet Thurdays at 9:30 a.m. via Zoom. Click here to get involved with Nourish.

Seasonal Recipes

Keep checking out this space for recipe inspiration from our local collaborators.


Nourish Seasonal Recipe Archive

Thank you to the Texas Center for Local FoodTexas Farmers Market, and VRDNT Farm  for their permission to share the recipes from their websites

Key Influence Areas

Where our food comes from – how it’s grown, processed, distributed, and sold. Improve efficiencies, capacities and sustainability of local producers and supporting businesses.

Who struggles with enough to eat.
Supply nourishment to those in need.

What impact food has on our health.
Improve community health through increased awareness and education regarding food-health connections.

How our food supply is negatively impacted by food waste and positively impacted by food recovery.
Waste less and use more.

How our food system does or does not work for every member of our community.
Encourage equitable food systems that support the needs of all our community’s cultures.

How our food system responds to disruptions. Participate in planning for prevention, response and recovery.

*Work CitedUSDA Agricultural Marketing Service. Food and Agriculture Data Explorer. Food and Agriculture Data Explorer, https://localfoodeconomics.com/data/food-and-agriculture-data-explorer/.