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HEALTHY
EATING

at two farms and one teaching garden. Since
2007, the Food Bank has worked the soil at
its main campus. That farming effort cur-
rently puts 40 acres under plow, cultivating
fruits and vegetables that are then integrated
into meals for kids and into distribution for
those needing produce at home. Volunteers
work side by side with staff to plant, maintain
and harvest the items from the farm.
The Food Bank also makes items from its
West Side farm available to local restaurants
as a part of a farm-to-table initiative. The ef-
fort is a win for local restaurants and helps
provide earned revenue support to the Food
Bank, with every $1 of income providing 7
meals to the community.
The second Food Bank farm is located at
historic Mission San Juan, and is an effort in
partnership with the National Parks Service.
The Food Bank maintains a MOU with the
National Park, allowing them to farm 45
acres in exchange for maintaining and
staffing a teaching garden at the Mission. The
teaching farm at Mission San Juan shows his-
torical farming as it would have occurred 300
years ago, including the use of flood irriga-
tion from the local acequia.
The Food Bank’s farming effort has multi-
ple purposes. First, it is an effort to educate
people about food and how it is grown. The
farms host tours for schools on a weekly basis.
Second, it is an effort to discuss sustainable
farming and energy practices. Water and con-
servation are so key to the food economy.
Farming gives the Food Bank a platform to
discuss these practices. Finally, the Food
Bank farms as a way to engage the commu-
nity in giving back through volunteerism.
To find out more information about the
San Antonio Food Bank, visit www.safood-
bank.org or follow them on all social chan-
nels #safoodbank.

Michael Guerra is the Chief Re-
source Officer of the San Antonio
Food Bank.

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