SAN ANTONIO – “San Antonio has been a city that struggled for a long time. We’ve got a high rate of poverty. We’ve got a lot of working poor families that were living on the edge and the coronavirus in a lot of ways has pushed them over the edge,” said Eric Cooper from the San Antonio Food Bank.
The local nonprofit organization has seen an overwhelming amount of need for food during this pandemic.
Typically, they serve 60,000 people per week, Cooper said. Now they are serving twice that many.
At one of the Food Bank’s recent mass distributions at the Alamodome, Cooper said more than 2,000 families showed up for help. Of those families, 70 percent of them find themselves in need and asking for help for the first time ever.
An even larger showing of 6,000 families turned out for a distribution event at Trader’s Village the week before.
For those fortunate enough to be in a position to help others right now, volunteering, donating and spreading the word on social media are three easy ways to help the food bank, Cooper said.
"The four things we need is food, time, money and voice,” he said.
Eventually, the food bank will reopen donation lines for non-perishable food items. (For now, they’re asking only for monetary donations to allow grocery stores to catch up with demand.)
“You don’t even need to leave your house. You can do a virtual food drive. Get your friends involved and you can help us big time at the food bank,” Cooper said.
Those who may need assistance with food can visit the San Antonio Food Bank’s website and watch below.
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