SAN ANTONIO — The Harlandale Sunshine Pantry has been broken into several times over the last year. However, that’s not stopping the two sisters who run it from doing everything they can do to keep it open for people in need.

It’s not a far commute to work for sisters Lotus Rios and Marissa Gutierrez. The free food pantry they run is right next door.

“We both grew up on the south side so it’s another way to give back. We got this back in, I believe it was May. This is going to be our new store and our new pantry. We’re going to be able to offer a lot more to the community this way,” said Rios. 

These days, the pantry looks much different from when we first visited Rios back in January after the pantry had been broken into. They moved the pantry into a new building because  they were tired of their passion project getting vandalized.

“Someone basically backed up their truck, loaded the fridge, and destroyed the inside of the structure and like $300 worth of food,” said Rios. 

It caused them to shut down the pantry for months, but the need for food in the community continued. 

“We had like 12 people in one day come by and ask when are you going to be open,” said Rios. 

Now Rios and Gutierrez are busy setting up the new and improved pantry, making sure the shelves were stocked.

“People can start utilizing the free little tiendita or little store,” said Rios.

The pantry will be able to provide the food and basic necessities like diapers to someone who otherwise wouldn’t have a way to get them, making their hearts full. 

“They’re very grateful. It relieves stress. Sometimes this is the only meal they have,” said Rios.

Eric Cooper knows what these families are going through. 

“On this map, you can see just how large our service territory is,” said Cooper. 

He’s the CEO of the San Antonio Food Bank. They serve a total of 29 counties in southwest Texas. Cooper said there are pop-up distribution events in at least one of those counties almost daily. 

“Most of the time, families are coming to these distributions about every two weeks. So we want to make sure we’re getting them 42 meals,” said Cooper. 

He said during the pandemic, they went from feeding 60,000 people a week, to feeding 120,000.

“We’re now at the level of 90,000 people a week. Which it’s more than what we used to serve, but it’s less than what it's been the last year and a half,” said Cooper.

As they get ready for another food giveaway, Cooper makes sure everything is on track to run smoothly, even if it’s unclear what the next few months hold.

“Are we coming out of the pandemic or are we going back in? Where is it with the delta variant? It’s a lot of uncertainty. We just know that one thing’s for certain, if someone’s hungry, we’re going to respond to that need to make sure that family is nourished,” said Cooper. 

That’s the same mission Rios and Gutierrez have in mind at their food pantry, making sure no one goes hungry.

“As long as there’s someone in need, we’ll continue going. No matter what, we’re going to bring the sunshine to the south side,” said Rios.