SAN ANTONIO – Eric Cooper, San Antonio Food Bank president and CEO, took a surprise call from the White House regarding the food bank’s food and water response following last week’s winter storm.
The call was fit for a king — or at least a Texan — as the setting was a Whataburger dining room.
According to a statement by the food bank, Cooper stopped between separate food distributions on Wednesday and ate at Whataburger when Doug Emhoff, the second gentleman of the United States and husband to Vice President Kamala Harris, called him.
The food bank said Emhoff wanted to check on San Antonio and the organization’s response effort.
“Eric thanked (Emhoff) and the Administration for the concern and care. He shared the challenges of water and the fragility of the power grid that crippled so many,” the San Antonio Food Bank said in a statement to KSAT. “But (Cooper) praised San Antonio for coming to the rescue and support of neighbors. He mentioned the selfless volunteers and the incredible donors of food, water and funds. And he spotlighted the way San Antonians make sure nobody is left behind.”
Emhoff expressed that the Biden-Harris administration was focusing on food insecurity and invited Cooper to continue the conversation, according to food bank officials.
Watch part of the pair’s conversation in the player below:
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