The idea was so simple and obvious that Eric Cooper, president and CEO of the San Antonio Food Bank, said, “This was so easy, wasn’t it?”
But now, Cooper says a “first of its kind” partnership with Workforce Solutions Alamo could serve as a national model.
Adrian Lopez, CEO of Workforce Solutions Alamo, says having one of its sites on the second floor of the Food Bank is a lesson learned after the pandemic.
With 300,000 jobs lost in the San Antonio area, Lopez said, “Our families are suffering.”
“This type of partnership is a response to that,” Lopez said. “It’s about how we help families in a deeper and more essential way.”
Cooper said the partnership will help it better fulfill its mission to “nourish lines and shorten lines.”
With Workforce Solutions Alamo’s help, he says, “If we can raise household wages, we’re less likely to need a food bank.”
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Cooper said people applying for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) often need to go to the Workforce Solutions site.
There is currently one on the 2nd floor, directly across from the Food Bank Career Center, which is open weekdays from 8am to 5pm.
“Here we save gas, we save time, we save hassle,” says Cooper.
Alice Rosas, who found a maintenance job at a food bank through Workforce Solutions Alamo, knows firsthand how people feel when they are away from work and need food for their families. Said there was
Often there is not enough money to pay for bus fares or petrol. Rosas says having Workforce Solutions in his bank certainly helps.
“Because a lot of these people don’t have the money to go elsewhere,” Rosas said.
But now she said
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