SAN ANTONIO – Texans Can Academy San Antonio is helping students and their families receive food assistance and hygiene products while school is out for the summer.
- Market provides food and toiletries
- 250 families served by pantry
- Program extended into summer
It’s an effort funded by Harvey E. Najim Family Foundation. In 2018, the charter school was awarded a $10,000 grant to start a food pantry on campus.
“The students we work with are struggling with food insecurity and come from low-income families. We have a mission to remove barriers that get in the way of education and access to nutritional food and other basic hygiene necessities,” said Rachel Castro, a school development director.
At the Dragon Market, students have access to food and toiletries such as toothpaste, deodorant, and feminine products. The pantry also has baby products for students with children in their families.
“It really helped us a lot,” said Christian Mascorro, a former student and client.
Castro says 250 students and their families used the pantry during the school year. Due to the need, she is extending services into the summer months to help students nearby.
“We operate in an area that is considered to be a food desert in San Antonio. There also other issues to accessibility. Not all of our students drive or their parents own a car so it’s just not as easy to get to the grocery story even when there is one available in their community. So we try to bring that resource to them,” Castro said.
It helped Mascorro when his family was homeless. When his family was able to get an apartment he said there still wasn’t much of a budget for food. Having the pantry helped supply for those meals.
“When I did come to [the pantry] it just paid off tremendously. It helped us get through extremely difficult time,” he said.
The pantry partners with the San Antonio Food Banks to supply its food. However, the charter school accepts donations from the public. For more information, click here.