San Antonio Food Bank Seeks More Money To Meet Increased Demand

Jaime Reyna, a roofer for 30 years, has been unemployed for more than three weeks since the threat of the new coronavirus began to affect businesses.

On Friday afternoon, Reyna, his wife Hope, and their two children went to the Ramirez Community Center in Arnold Park to pick up food from the San Antonio Food Bank for the second time in two weeks. Their van was among hundreds of vehicles that slowly wound their way through the parking lot and onto Gillette.

Earlier Friday, the food bank appealed for monetary donations so that it can continue to meet a demand for more than $ 500,000 in food each day – an amount that has more than doubled since the start of the pandemic.

Eric S. Cooper, president and CEO of the food bank, said that over the years, the organization fed an average of 58,000 people a year. He began to see an increase in demand in mid-March, as schools in the area began to close to stop the spread of the virus. The food bank has already helped feed more than 120,000 people this week.

“The supply is still around $ 500,000, but the reality is that we need more than a million dollars in food now because we have double the number of people,” said Cooper.

In addition, it is becoming increasingly difficult to obtain food scraps from local stores.

“Our trucks go out in the morning and generally pick up the surpluses in grocery stores, things like day-to-day bread,” he said. “All this food is sold. There is nothing to pick up. “

Despite the challenges, Cooper requests that people without food continue to reach out to the food bank as it consolidates weekly mobile deliveries to a handful of mega-distribution sites for the remainder of the coronavirus response effort. The move aims to provide emergency food to families in need.

Cooper said that each of the 16 counties served by non-profit organizations will have at least one mega-distribution site, but that some counties such as Bexar may have more than one location based on population.

“With the COVID-19 crisis, what has happened is that many distributions that once served 200 to 400 families now number between 1,200 and 1,500 families,” he said. “This is really a constraint on the system and we are unable to manage supply and demand.”

Pre-registration for a time, place and date to receive assistance is required. Residents can register for www.safoodbank.org/cvresponse/getfood or call the food bank help line at 210-431-8326 during normal business hours.

Applicants will be notified once they have been pre-registered.

When families arrive at their designated site, volunteers will verify their registration. The claimant will go to a distribution point and volunteers will load food and non-food items into the trunk.

“These are unprecedented times and needs,” said Cooper, “and we want to make sure everyone is taken care of.”

The precautions are similar to those taken at the distribution site on Friday, where San Antonio Parks and Recreation volunteers wore gloves to help load packages onto each passing vehicle.

Less than 50 volunteers distributed approximately $ 75,000 in bulk food such as apples, oranges, cabbage and canned soup, loading it into the trunks or beds of passing vehicles. Working in well-spaced tents, they shouted an assigned number indicating what food each vehicle received.

Cooper said the food bank is limiting the number of volunteers who could be at distribution sites in order to maintain the requirements for social distancing. He said that some volunteers who sign up are scheduled weeks in advance.

“We are trying to determine what the future needs of volunteers will be and we invite people to register on the website,” he said.

Susana Q. Gonzalez, 50, sat in the passenger seat while her son Andrew drove slowly with the flow of the line. She said they were thankful for the precautions because she and her family are afraid to go to a crowded store.

A resident of South Side for 32 years, Gonzalez continues his work at home as executive director for the South San Antonio Independent School District.

Her son worked for the restoration of Bill Miller until all events were canceled.

“Everyone cancels parties and weddings,” said his son. “We stay safe so that’s all that matters.”

She said that their family of four had followed the orders to stay at home and the precautions to wash their hands since their announcement.

“You’re scared. You don’t know what you can and can’t do,” she said. “We didn’t even manage to shop for groceries or anything.”

Jacob Beltran is a journalist covering San Antonio and Bexar County. To learn more about Jacob, become subscriber. [email protected] | Twitter: @JBfromSA