SAN ANTONIO – The San Antonio Food Bank’s final mega distribution of 2020 Tuesday morning carried a Texas twist with each of the food packages.
The 2,000 households -- a total of about 9,000 to 10,000 people -- received a brisket, courtesy of the RK Group, and sausage links from Kiolbassa Smoked Meats among their roughly 150 pounds of food as they passed through the Alamodome parking lot. Community First Health Plans also helped pay for the transportation for much of the food.
It has been a tough year, Food Bank President and CEO Eric Cooper said, and to be able to get “this Texas Christmas - a little bit of barbecue for families - it means the world.”
Lance and Anne Faye Smith called the donations “fantastic” as they pulled through the line.
“We’re talking to her sister who’s in England, and they don’t have this at all,” Lance Smith said. “And my mom and dad, when I talk to them back in Pennsylvania, it doesn’t compare. This is really a great thing for the folks down here. I’m telling you. And whoever gives, they really give - is our thoughts about it.”
These types of events, however, are also a reminder of how badly the COVID-19 pandemic has hit South Texas and the position in which it has put many residents. The food bank says it has seen the number of people it helps every week jump from 60,000 to 120,000 across 16 counties.
The mega mobile distribution events have been become necessary to help deal with the influx of recipients, the demands of COVID-19 precautions, as well as the loss of many partner agencies who used to help distribute the food.
Though the mega distribution events are done for the year, families are still able to get help through the SA Food Bank. You can find more information on their website: https://safoodbank.org/cvresponse/