Salvation Army delivers soup, blankets to those in need

Organization's canteen truck sets up near downtown

SAN ANTONIO – The area’s first cold snap is sending many indoors to escape potentially freezing temperatures overnight. Not everyone in San Antonio will have that option, however. To help those who will be cold Thursday night, the Salvation Army is delivering warmth to the streets.

“We're taking our canteen truck out, which is a truck we normally use for disaster relief purposes,” said Brad Mayhar, spokesperson for the Salvation Army in San Antonio.

While it may not be a disaster, the cold snap is a serious situation for the city’s homeless population. 

"It’s cold to us being out here now. It’s hard imagine what these folks have to do every night,” Mayhar said.

The canteen truck, which will park near the corner of East Houston and Frio streets, will be delivering warmth in several forms starting at 5 p.m. Thursday. It is in an area for many who are homeless in San Antonio. 

"[We’ll have] blankets. We're also going to have warm tomato soup. We're going to have hot cocoa,” Mayhar said.

Gonzaba Medical Group will be assisting the Salvation Army. 

"Some of the volunteers from Gonzaba, they're going to bring some coats,” Mayhar said.

The hope is to help a large number of those in need, as temperatures are expected to drop near freezing Thursday night.

"Most of the time that we do this, we try to stay until the last person that we see has been served or we run out of product,” Mayhar said.

While the Salvation Army’s shelters are near or at capacity, they hope not to turn anyone away Thursday night.  The Emergency Family Shelter and the Dave Coy Center will be used as warming stations Thursday night and will remain open 24 hours. The Goslinowski Social Services lobby will also be used as a warming station and is open from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. 


About the Author:

Justin Horne is a meteorologist and reporter for KSAT 12 News. When severe weather rolls through, Justin will hop in the KSAT 12 Storm Chaser to safely bring you the latest weather conditions from across South Texas. On top of delivering an accurate forecast, Justin often reports on one of his favorite topics: Texas history.