SAN ANTONIO – Due to the COVID-19 shutdown, some families have experienced devastating situations that make it hard to put food on the table. Leaders from Resurrection Church in Schertz are working to help alleviate the needs of the community by holding an ongoing food drive.

“The main mission of our church is to reach those needs wherever they are, and we think that by doing this, we’re going to help to bring a little bit more relief to our community,” pastor Ray Brown, of Resurrection Church, said. “Everybody’s going through something right now.”

Between their campuses in Schertz and San Antonio, Resurrection Church was able to gather close to 5,800 pounds of non-perishable food items in one week.

Saturday morning, a total of approximately 50 volunteers gathered at the church campuses to meet their goal of an additional 8,000 pounds, or 100 barrels of canned food items.

Volunteers unload non-perishable food items from vehicles. Donations benefit the food banks in San Antonio and New Braunfels.
Volunteers unload non-perishable food items from vehicles. Donations benefit the food banks in San Antonio and New Braunfels. (Copyright 2020 by KSAT - All rights reserved.)

AJ Abalos woke up early Saturday morning to load the trunk of her vehicle with donations.

“I believe that it is our responsibility, to take care of everybody,” Abalos said. “It’s not just being here physically, but we have to get out into the community and help those that need help.”

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The volunteers were eager to help unload the donations, but Minister William Jackson said the barrels aren’t filling up as quickly as before.

“(Last Saturday) we managed to fill up 25 (barrels) in two hours and 43 (barrels) between both locations, and it was amazing,” Jackson said.

Although a major accomplishment, Resurrection Church wants to remind the community that the need for food isn’t going away.

Leaders from Resurrection Church host ongoing food drive to help meet the existing need for food within the community.
Leaders from Resurrection Church host ongoing food drive to help meet the existing need for food within the community. (Copyright 2020 by KSAT - All rights reserved.)

“After that initial buzz, people may have felt that we had already accomplished our goals,” Brown said. “We have not. We're doing everything we can to let people know that we're still (collecting food donations).”

Volunteers also made an effort to show their appreciation to all mothers that made a donation. Donors like Abalos received a rose from volunteer Keith Blackmon even before their items were unloaded.

“This is wonderful,” Abalos said. “(This is) way more than I expected. It's just a wonderful blessing.”

Blackmon said it’s an honor to help celebrate moms like Abalos.

“It feels good to put a smile on the moms’ faces,” Blackmon said. “(It’s to) let them know that we appreciate their donation and appreciate the fact that they are a mom.”

As for the church, Brown said they’ll continue to find ways to provide more relief to the community.

Resurrection Church’s main campus is located in Schertz at 1002 E. Live Oak Road. Its San Antonio location is at 16875 Jones Maltsberger Road.

To learn more about their efforts, visit Resurrection Church’s Facebook page.

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