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HEALTHY
EATING

Gardening & Farming:

Examining the San Antonio Food Bank’s Farming Effort

By Michael Guerra

them all manners of healthy cooking and nu-
trition. Employing more than 30 people to
help individuals navigate public benefits en-
rollment and more than a dozen registered
dieticians and wellness experts, this is the
largest effort of any food bank in these two
program areas.
The Nutrition, Health and Wellness Team
works to promote healthy eating patterns and
active lifestyles to improve the well-being of
the community. This is done by educating the
community through a variety of free classes
and by promoting healthy eating through
urban gardening and Farmers’ Markets. The
Food Bank operates the largest Farmers’ Mar-
ket Association in the region, conducting as
many as 25 markets each month. Food is pro-
vided from Food Bank farming initiatives, as
well as from local farmers. Individuals can use
their Lone Star Card for produce. They can
also get their produce purchase doubled by a
special incentive program offered by the
Food Bank. The markets offer seasonal fruits
and vegetables. In addition, the farmers’ mar-
kets have nutrition demos showing attendees
how to prepare healthy recipes from the
items available in the market that day.
The Health and Wellness team works in
the community, teaching classes on a variety
of topics: healthy cooking for kids, strategies
Since 1980, the San Antonio Food Bank Bank’s “food for today” strategy, the first for combating diabetes and obesity, effective
has served the emergency needs of food inse- rung of their 3-step effort to move individu- grocery store shopping, extending your gro-
cure residents across 16 counties of South- als to self-sufficiency. cery budget and much more. Classes are free
west Texas. Known for helping individuals The Food Bank’s second step up the ladder to participants and are offered in both Eng-
with groceries and meals, the Food Bank sets assists individuals with “food for tomorrow”: lish and Spanish, conducted in person and
the table for 120,000 people a week. The gro- helping them enroll in public support pro- through virtual offerings.
ceries and meals are the anchor for the Food grams (SNAP, WIC, etc.), and teaching The Food Bank’s farming efforts take place

20 SAN ANTONIO MEDICINE • May 2021