NEW BRAUNFELS, Texas — Food Banks in San Antonio and New Braunfels have been struggling to keep up with increasing demand. Not because of a lack of generosity, but a lack of volunteers.
“You might not be seeing me as much,” Alex Davis explained to Food Bank President and CEO Eric Cooper Wednesday Morning.
Davis had been volunteering at the New Braunfels Food Bank for over two years, but his new job with H-E-B means he'll have to cut back. Cooper considers this a success.
“It's a relationship and seeing that relationship progress and evolve,” Cooper said. “It brings joy, but there is this struggle, right? because we need the help.
It does come at a rough time though. Cooper says both the New Braunfels and San Antonio Food Banks have been short on volunteers recently.
"It's the volunteerism that we're really lacking at this time,” he said. “We just have shifts that take 50 people, and only 10 register."
Part of that is because of an expected lull that comes around this time of year.
"Because of vacations and all the distractions that happen during the summer, we actually see less volunteers at a time when it's the busiest demand,” Cooper said.
But, he says inflation and supply issues have increased both the need in the community and the strain on their system.
"Typically, we've been feeding about 90 thousand people a week,” Cooper said. “That number today is over 100 thousand people a week."
Which is why he's encouraging San Antonians to work volunteering into their summer plans.
"You'll make a huge difference in a short amount of time and honestly, we can't do our work without volunteers,” he said. “So please, if you can give us the gift of time, register and volunteer today."