San Antonio has ranked third among metropolitan cities for highest percentage of people in poverty, out of 25 of the nation’s largest cities between 2023-2024, falling below Houston and Detroit according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Of San Antonio residents, 13% live below the poverty line, placing the city above the average of other states.
With poverty comes the demand for assistance programs, such as Haven For Hope and the San Antonio Food Bank. Many people within San Antonio use these programs to support themselves and their families. The San Antonio Food Bank has existed since 1980, serving the diverse area of Southwest Texas. The Paisano spoke with the President and CEO of the San Antonio Food Bank Eric Cooper, who stated that the 29 counties in Texas see over 105,000 people a week.
“We are working as hard as we can to collect donated food from farmers and growers, food manufacturers, wholesalers [and] great grocery retailers. We have the world’s best here at HEB, restaurants, hotels, caterers, hosting food drives,” Cooper said.
HEB is a significant supporter of the San Antonio Food Bank, donating to many events throughout the year as well as helping with their own assistance programs.
“Hunger isn’t necessarily a food issue, that America doesn’t produce enough food to feed people,” he stated. “Hunger is more of an income issue, and that is that the wages don’t cover household expenses and leave money left over for food. Rent eats first.”
He also explained the sizable percentage of people who come to the food bank are mostly Hispanic women. Single mothers who are Hispanic were described to visit most frequently when unexpected life circumstances arose.
“Statistically, it’s four to five times a year,” Cooper revealed. “It’s when the car breaks down, it’s when a child gets sick. Holidays are happening or back to school, those high utility bills of the summer, those are some of the causes that kind of disrupt the household budget and so food banks are this big food subsidy that’s just trying to keep families moving forward.”
People who ask for assistance are those who use it when necessary in their lives; only a percentage of the people who use resources, such as the Food Bank, are homeless.
“When we’re feeding 105,000 people a week, it’s a very small amount that are homeless; most of who we feed are housed. They’re paying rent, they’re working, they’re just not making enough,” he shared.
Haven For Hope is an organization dedicated to helping individuals strive for self-sufficiency and shelter assistance. The Paisano interviewed the Director of Communications, Terri Behling, to discuss how Haven for Hope is mitigating the city’s poverty issue.
“We are the largest homeless shelter in San Antonio, but we’re also a transformational campus,” Behling said. “So we serve close to 9000 individuals each year, and we are serving those who are experiencing homelessness in our community.”
Haven For Hope assists many with housing. Behling states that they see proof of the high poverty rate within their organization. Haven For Hope has many facilities, including an apartment complex with 140 units, a YMCA learning center and medical clinics.
“So what that study [Ranking 3rd in Poverty] would indicate to me is similar to what we’ve seen in the past several years,” she said.
Haven For Hope sees the impact of San Antonio’s high poverty rate in their permanent emergency shelter capacity, which, according to Behling, is 13,140. She added, “We’re nearly full every day.”
The multiple facilities that Haven For Hope are near their capacity limit daily due to the large number of people who need housing. Behling also commented on how city leaders are attempting to assist with the poverty situation.
“I believe the city of San Antonio and Bexar County leaders, community leaders, elected officials, all have this on their radar and are looking at what potential resources could come online,” she said. “There’s more affordable housing initiatives happening in our community, so it’s really going to take a community effort to address this moving forward.”
