San Antonio Food Bank 

The Community Garden, a project of the San Antonio Food Bank, is an exciting, new initiative of the Nutrition Education Program. It will contribute to a healthier city environment and will increase services and the quantity of food available to the San Antonio community and outlying counties by:

• Transforming five acres into a multi-functional community garden/farm, complete with greenhouse, education pavilion, and sports court
• Producing large quantities of fresh, quality fruits and vegetables for the food insecure
• Using the garden as a forum for nutrition education to encourage increased consumption of fruits and vegetables and increased exercise and physical activity for the prevention of overweight and obesity conditions
• Educating children about positive ways to improve the environment
• Increasing self-sufficiency through instruction of basic backyard food production techniques
• Promoting community service awareness by offering numerous volunteer opportunities
• Promoting a sense of community spirit and togetherness by bringing individuals from across sixteen counties to work towards one common goal...to assist the food insecure

The following organizations are key financial sponsors of the Community Garden, investing for healthier lifestyles of San Antonio residents:

• U.S. Department of Agriculture – Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program-Education (SNAP-ED)
• The Spurs Foundation
• Texas Department of State Health Services 
• HEB

Other partners include the 410 human service agencies working with the SAFB. They will make the Community Garden produce available to the community through their programs and may use the surplus of plants donated to plant in the agencies’ gardens and eventually make the produce available to the community.

The San Antonio Food Bank (SAFB) is a charitable organization that solicits, receives, inventories, and distributes donated food and grocery products pursuant to grocery industry and appropriate regulatory standards. The SAFB fulfills their mission through the Services Department which includes the following components:  

• SAFB Affiliated Agencies which provide the products directly to needy clients through various programs helping to meet the nutritional needs of families and individuals
• Social Services Outreach working to help individuals understand and apply for food and health insurance assistance programs
• Nutrition Education Program educating the community about nutrition (SAFB-Community Garden, a new initiative under the Nutrition Education Program, is using the garden as a forum for nutrition education to encourage increased consumption of fruits and vegetables and increased exercise and physical activity for the prevention of overweight and obesity conditions)
• Children Feeding Program providing children with nutritional meals throughout the year
• Project Hope working to meet the nutritional of the elderly
• Second Servings distributing meals from local restaurants to agencies
• Food Fairs distributing food to qualifying individuals throughout the city
• Community Kitchen Training teaching job skills in food service
• Catering offering quality catering by seasoned staff offered for any occasion Gleaning/Fresh Produce local and seasonal fresh fruits and vegetables

SAFB serves the sixteen counties of Atascosa, Bandera, Bexar, Comal, Edwards, Frio, Guadalupe, Karnes, Kendall, Kerr, La Salle, Medina, Real, Uvalde, Wilson, and Zavala through 410 human service agencies which help people in need.

Seventy percent of all the people served by the San Antonio Food Bank Network are food insecure.

The poverty rate for the SAFB service area is 20%. Clients served are all of low income:

• 27% children
• 15% elderly
• 61% female
• 31% headed by a single adult
• 6% abused
• 2% chronically ill
• 1% mentally ill
• 41% of families have at least one individual working
• 9% homeless 

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