“Everyone knows at this time, food is just so expensive,” said Monica Garza, a grandmother of six children.
Garza is really feeling that pressure, having to feed six grandchildren. Garza quit her job as a welder last year when her daughter died, stepping up to be a full-time parent to her daughter’s four-year-old son and also helping with her five other grandchildren. It’s why she turned to the San Antonio Food Bank.
“Family comes first and I couldn’t leave my grandson and go out of state like I used to, now I have to improvise and by the grace of God I’ve come across the food bank,” Garza said.
The San Antonio Food Bank feeds 15,000 people over three days of food distribution to families of local school districts, South San ISD, Northside ISD and San Antonio ISD.
Just today, 1500 families within SAISD are being fed, which will help about 5,000 people. Those being helped are not just getting canned goods-- but pounds of produce and fresh food.
One to two weeks of food, which would be about two grocery carts full valued at nearly $300, even including a holiday turkey.
It’s all thanks to local philanthropist Harvey E. Najim for making these distributions possible for the past 12 years.
“Interest rates, the price of rent and utilities, people are really struggling today and I don’t think there is anything more important than providing them with 150 lbs of food to last them through the holidays,” Najim said.
And for Garza and her family of ten that she feeds, she is grateful. She said that distributions like this and others she gets from the Food Bank help them get by, saving them money monthly.
“It saves us about $400 a month in my household,” Garza said. “I push the pencil, but I have to stretch every dollar that comes into the household at this point.”
The registration is full for all of these distributions, but the San Antonio Food Bank said if you need assistance through the holidays, you can reach out to them via its website to find other distribution events.