NEW BRAUNFELS, Texas — A mass distribution of food in Comal County Thursday morning supplied meals to many in need.
It took teamwork to help around 1,000 families have food for the dinner table. In the early morning hours, hundreds of cars lined up at Tree of Life Church in New Braunfels to wait for food.
“[There’s] so many people in need,” said Tree of Life Church Pastor Don Duncan. “We have an opportunity to partner with San Antonio, New Braunfels Food Banks, Westside Community Center, Family Life Center and be able to distribute to 900 plus families that are really hurting right now. So it's a great chance for us to be a blessing.”
Spaced out and masked up, volunteers worked together to distribute food boxes. Recipients were asked to stay in their car with the windows rolled up and trunk open.
“It's just so emotional for so many people with what's going on,” said Monica Borrego, the Executive Director of the New Braunfels Food Bank. “We're seeing a client that has never had to use our services before. So that reassuring that we're doing as we're handing out food, it is super important right now to be able to give individuals and families some hope that they will get out of this, we will get out of this and that we're all in this together.”
Each trunk or truck bed was filled with 150 pounds of food. Items included rice beans, vegetables, fruit, canned goods, chicken and eggs.
The church usually feeds 100 families a month.
“There sure are needs all year round,” said Pastor Duncan. “We do what we can to be a blessing to them but since we're dealing with the coronavirus, it has just gone up exponentially.”
The Westside Community Center typically holds a mobile food pantry twice a month and the New Braunfels Food Bank has transitioned to daily food distributions since coronavirus has impacted the community. Thursday’s event combined the strengths of each group to feed even more families in Comal County.
“We're lucky to have the Tree of Life Church as a partner with us in this, because we need to reach the masses right now with a lot of food. We can only do that if we have the right space available to us,” said Borrego. The Church campus utilized their massive parking lot and overhangs to host the event.
“We're super thankful everything is so organized,” said Borrego. “Right now, the most important thing is that we reach a lot of people, with a lot of good products that they need on hand right now.
As the cars made their way through the line, volunteers smiled, waved and said a few prayers for the community.
“The message of hope we want to be, want you to know, that we're here for you. We're praying for you,” said Pastor Duncan. “[There are] so many great stories of people helping other people, looking out for each other. Maybe it's an opportunity to put some of the things that divide us aside, to be able to help one another.”
New Braunfels families still in need of food can drive through the food bank on South Seguin Avenue during distribution times.
Drive through lines are open Monday through Friday 9 – 11 a.m. and 2 – 4 p.m. or Saturdays from 9 a.m. - 1 p.m.
“We're seeing a lot of products go out but the only way that we can continue to do that, is if we see either products come in or financial donations come in,” said Borrego.
To learn more, CLICK HERE to visit the New Braunfels Food Bank Website.