In December 2002 SAC Staff Council once again held a "canned goods" drive for the SA Food Bank.

The SA Food Bank (http://www.safoodbank.org/) distributes these items in manageable quantities to 300 human service agencies that help people in need. Below we will tell you a little about what the food bank does with donations.

Nearly one of every five adults and one of every four children in Texas lives in poverty and has difficulty meeting basic nutritional needs. Sixty-five percent of the people requesting emergency food have children. Senior citizens/those living on a fixed income often have limited funds for a consistent grocery budget.

Through partner agencies, SAFB served 12,500,000 meals to poor/hungry individuals/families this year.

*It is estimated that 1.1 million, or 32%, of all children in Texas are hungry or at risk of hunger.
*Every fourth child in Texas (26.8%) - more than 1.4 million children - live in a family that is poor, compared to 21 % nationally.
*The poverty rate for children ages 0-17 in Bexar County is 29.6%
*Nationwide, nearly 40% of people seeking emergency food assistance have a working adult in the household; 38% are children under age 17.
*Texas ranks 46th on children living in poverty. Only four states - New Mexico, Louisiana,
Mississippi and West Virginia - are worse.

KIDS CAFES

Nationally, America's Second Harvest Food Banks support Kids Cafés in their respective areas. Currently, 212 Kids Cafés are operated by 59 Second Harvest Food Banks nationally. In San Antonio, the SAFB presently supports three Cafés - the Boys and Girls Club Eastside and Westside and the Downtown Youth Center. These three sites alone are providing meals, companionship, and safety to 400 needy children.