SAN ANTONIO — With inflation, many people are making tough choices at the grocery store.
To make sure every family has a protein on the holiday dinner table, the San Antonio Food Bank is collecting 20,000 turkeys, with an ultimate goal of collecting four million pounds of food this holiday season.
"We continue to have unprecedented numbers here every year and so as people enter the holidays, we want them to know that they're going to be able to put food on the table," said Lauren Deal, director of philanthropy for the San Antonio Food Bank. "We are seeing about 100,000 individuals that we're serving each week in our 29 counties. And that's stayed consistent for a handful of years now."
What has changed throughout the years, Deal explains, is the decisions more people are having to make.
"Through different seasons of the year and different times of the year, we see different individuals and different types of people," she said. "Say, for instance, somebody might be in a grocery store deciding between a name brand sparkling water or a generic brand sparkling water. Everybody's making those choices right now, whether you have a regular paying job or you're working multiple jobs to make ends meet."
It's why she says donating now matters.
"If we don't show up, folks don't end up with food on the table," Deal said. "We encourage you to show up. You always do, San Antonio. You've always got our backs. So we're so grateful for that. And we look forward to meeting that four million pounds and going beyond it.”
Every Saturday in November until the week of Thanksgiving, the SA Food Bank will be at an H-E-B Plus store collecting donations. People can drop food they purchase in the bins, or they can donate $15 which will sponsor a protein for the dinner table of someone in need.
Drop-off donations:
November 9: 17238 Bulverde Road, San Antonio, TX 78247
November 16: 12125 Alamo Ranch Pkwy, San Antonio, TX 78253
November 23: ALL San Antonio-area H-E-B Plus Stores
For more information, or to donate money, you can click HERE.