During the holiday period, the West Texas Food Bank offers a holiday box which contains items that are helpful in preparing a holiday meal, i.e., pumpkin, cranberry, and turkey breast. 100 families will receive these
boxes, beginning with the elderly, single parents second, and
first-come-first serve with the balance. The benefits would be food provisions for the needy and a general feeling of goodwill during the holiday season.

Jody Donet, Volunteer for CDRC&D helps unload and
distribute refurbished Dell Printers to non-profits in the area. A
total of 206 printers were distributed to 33 organizations and schools for a total market value of $23,570 throught the Gifts In Kind International Organization.

The dry fire hydrant program continues to grow! Terlingua ISD installed a hydrant on school property to provide water in case of fire. Also we recently received additional grant money from the Texas Forest Service to construct 3 more hydrants in and around the Terlingua Estates area. These tanks are accessible as a source of water for Volunteer Fire
Departments when needed.

10 students designed and implemented demonstration sites on campus through hands-on landscaping projects. These students benefited from a project-based learning environment. The students practiced leadership
skills through presentation, planning, and organizing these projects. 75 families will have the opportunity to purchase plants grown in the greenhouse as well.

The CDRC&D Area received a $35,000.00 grant from the USDA's Natural Resource Conservation Service State Office, located in Temple, TX to assist the West Texas Food Bank with their new financial and technology initiative. The WTFP hosted 2 seminars in El Paso and 2 in Alpine to teach partner agencies to assess and streamline the process of moving the approximate 6 million pounds of food through their warehouses annually. A total of 30 people( 26 agencies) received the online ordering training equaling 15% of the 174 agencies connected with the West Texas Food Bank. Our goal to increase the percentage of agency participation. This has resulted in 110,105 lbs. being distributed from 48 web orders. This project has leveraged a $5 to $1 return.

Ysleta del Sur Pueblo Hueco Mountains Restoration Project Brush Management-The Tigua Indian Tribe has applied a herbicide to control invading brush, reduce erosion, and defer grazing during the recovery period. All labor is being provided by the Tribe and community
service programs. This conservation practice involved ground application of Tebuthiuron pellets (Spike 20P) over a 12-acre area of the total 30-acre project area to control creosote and tar bush, which have taken over the habitat.