Doing Good

Noteworthy nonprofit rallies Austin music and tech communities to fight hunger

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MusicTechandFood.org is leveraging the giving nature of Austin's music and tech communities.

Photo by Shelley Neuman

Nothing says Austin quite like live music, a startup mentality, and the desire to help others. MusicTechandFood.org embodies all three. The volunteer-based nonprofit links the music and tech communities with food relief organizations in Austin.

Co-founder and executive director Jake Sussman officially launched the nonprofit in April. With a background in tech and a love for live music, he saw an opportunity to leverage the philanthropic nature of those sectors.

"Mission No. 1 is a hunger relief organization. No. 2 is building a community between music and tech," Sussman says. "I had never really seen a community between these three before. So that's kind of exciting — building a community around a desire to give back."

MusicTechandFood.org helps local tech businesses, live music venues, and concert promoters host food drives and collect donations for nonprofits like the Capital Area Food Bank of Texas. Currently, the organization can collect donations at a concert or manage a week-long food drive at a business. At the first concert-based drive in early May, MusicTechandFood.org raised enough money for Johnson's Backyard Garden to donate 240 pounds of fresh produce to SafePlace Women's Center and the The Settlement Home for Children.

Other local organizations partnering with MusicFoodTech.org include Spredfast, Idean, Civitas Learning, Mosaic Sound Collective, The Parish, Feeding Texas, and the Sustainable Food Center.

"We have seen firsthand the giving power of the tech and music communities and are excited to partner with an organization whose mission combines the impact of two strong sectors to fight food insecurity," said Mark Jackson, chief development officer of Capital Area Food Bank, in a press release.

Sussman hopes to add more community events, workshops, and education on food security as the nonprofit grows. But it doesn't stop there — the Austin-based organization also has plans to launch in Los Angeles and Denver in 2017.

Self-driving Roller Coaster

More self-driving cars expected to roll out in Austin for 2025

Photo courtesy of Waymo via KVUE

Various brands offering self-driving cars are on-and-off in Austin.

Expect to see more self-driving rideshare vehicles, also known as robotaxis, on Austin roads next year.

Robotaxi company Waymo, which you may have already seen on Austin's roads, is partnering with Uber. At some point next year, customers will be able to use the Uber app to call a self-driving ride.

Austin-based company Avride is in the testing phase and plans to roll out its robotaxis next year.

Currently, Volkswagen ADMT and Amazon's Zoox are in the testing phase in Austin, while Hyundai's Motional is in the mapping phase.

Last year, robotaxi company Cruise paused operations in Austin after the California Department of Motor Vehicles revoked the company's permits to operate driverless vehicles in the state. And last week, General Motors said it would no longer fund the company because of the time and resources needed.

This way of getting around has come with its safety concerns and issues. The city is tracking those concerns. According to the Transportation Department, the problems span from blocking the roads and parking in front of people's homes for weeks with lights beaming through their windows, to actual wrecks.

Since July 2023, robotaxis have been involved in 75 incidents. Only 21 of those incidents happened in 2024. It's important to note that Cruise has not been operating in Austin this year.

Since July 2023, driverless rideshare vehicles have been involved in 22 near collisions, eight collisions and seven instances where driverless taxis ignored directions from the Austin Police Department (APD).

According to the data, at least four of those Austin police incidents happened in recent months. The issues varied from driving through police checkpoints, to malfunctioning and getting stuck at an APD road closure near pedestrians, causing safety concerns.

A Waymo spokesperson said their vehicles have gesture recognition capabilities, which they've been training APD officers on using.

As the report shows, sometimes it does not work and Waymo said it is working to improve that. The spokesperson said that as of just last week, Waymo's First Responder Program has been independently verified by TÜV SÜD, making Waymo the first autonomous vehicle (AV) company to receive third-party validation for our emergency response protocols. They also said the data to date indicates the Waymo Driver is already reducing traffic injuries and fatalities in the places where the company currently operates.

Read the full story and watch the video at KVUE.com.

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