SAN ANTONIO – Within the last few weeks, the San Antonio Food Bank has helped feed an additional 22,000 people.
Food Bank President and CEO Eric Cooper said the need is only expected to grow as students across 29 counties are released for summer break.
“Our busiest time of the year is the summer,” Cooper said. “We’ll be making tens of thousands of meals over the summer months to make sure kids don’t miss those meals.”
Cooper said summer is the busiest because families have to budget extra for both childcare and additional groceries during the 11 weeks students are out of school.
“Just in Bexar County, there’s about 200,000 kids that were fed at school that will now be home and hungry.”
Not to mention, Cooper said it comes at a time when families are already facing rising prices at the grocery store and at the fuel pump.
“Our goal is to not cut back, but to meet the demand,” Cooper said.
Alongside school districts across the state of Texas, the San Antonio Food Bank will prepare summer meals for students in its culinary center that will be distributed to nearly 200 sites across the community.
The San Antonio Food Bank is also delivering boxes of groceries to families who sign up to help them prepare meals for their children at home.
Cooper said families will be fed, but stressed their programs are reliant on funding, donations and volunteers.
“We need food donations, we need financial support and volunteers,” Cooper said.
To find ways to help the food bank or request assistance, visit the San Antonio Food Bank’s website or call the help line at (210) 431-8326.
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