SAN ANTONIO — Harpers Chapel Ministries serves San Antonio’s Westside. Three times a week, kids come to the church after school to play, learn and eat.

“The kids, they have their food in school, but when they come home, a lot of them don’t get meals,” Pastor Vincent Robinson said. “So if we don’t have the resources to provide for them because of a lack of funding, that affects everyone.”

To combat food insecurity, the U.S. Department of Agriculture is rolling out its $2.5 billion Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer program. About 3.7 million Texas children would qualify for Summer EBT. The program would have brought about $350 million in assistance to families — but the state opted out.

The State Department of Health and Human Services says, “the level of effort needed to implement a new program, and the need for new appropriations from the legislature, it is not feasible for Texas to successfully launch Summer EBT in 2024.”

San Antonio Food Bank President and CEO Eric Cooper says demand has increased recently. “When inflation hit it just skyrocketed to this 105,000 people a week,” Cooper said. “And we’ve struggled to keep up, honestly.”

“If families get Summer EBT then they will not need to lean on us as much,” Cooper said. “And our inventory can be stretched and last a little longer.”

Texas Health and Human Services will evaluate implementing Summer EBT in the future. Pastor Robinson says no matter what, they’ll continue reaching beyond church walls.