South Texas VA and San Antonio Food Bank unite to end hunger

While Veterans were in line to receive food from Audie L. Murphy Memorial VA, volunteers and staff greeted them with warm smiles and gave them a variety of healthy food to take home.

More than 160 Veterans drove through the line, collecting tomatoes, green peppers, bread and Mountain Dew.

Promoting wholesome diets

Cristina Elizondo, Food Security Program coordinator, encourages healthy eating by promoting wholesome diets. While motivating people to eat organic foods, she devised a plan to establish a garden and launch a garden-to-table initiative, ensuring Veterans and caregivers have access to food.

“We’ll grow vegetables that we can pair with our healthy teaching kitchen classes for our low-income Veterans,” she said. Building a garden together with Veterans will fight social isolation and foster relationships with other Veterans, too.

The second part of her vision is to construct a pantry with a mini kitchen. Having a food pantry on-site would be a huge asset for Veterans seeking food security, as well as creating a safe, judgment-free environment in which Veterans could prepare a delicious meal using pantry items and garden vegetables.

Over 900 Veterans at food distribution events

Some Veterans face hurdles trying to get assistance for food. “The big barrier is trying to connect them to or easing the process with SNAP application assistance,” Elizondo said.   

Making the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) application available through Eligibility and Enrollment is an opportunity to reduce hunger and improve enrollment among South Texas Veterans.

Feds Feed Families is a food drive partnership that collects donations from employees, federal employees and other federal agencies across South Texas.

Elizondo has made an impact for Veterans lacking nourishment. After months of preparation, recurring food distribution drives began in April 2024. Since the food drive’s inception, over 900 Veterans, including families and caregivers, have experienced food security.

She helps eliminate hunger, reduce loneliness and cultivates friendships through cooking demonstrations. “What I ultimately feel near and dear to my heart is no hungry Veteran should be left behind. The ones that need it and deserve it the most are our nation’s Veterans,” she added.

Get more information on food insecurity.