A couple of years back, The New York Times published a piece calling New Braunfels, Texas, “one of America’s fastest-growing cities” after a release from the United States Census Bureau. Not much seems to have changed as Inside Monkey this year ranked it fifth on its list of fastest-growing cities in the state.
If you had not heard about it yet, chances are you were going to soon, as Mayor Rusty Brockman told the Times then: “People have found New Braunfels — the word is out. And I think we are going to continue to deal with this growth for a long time.” One food bank has made it its mission to deal with the effects of these changes by assisting with food and housing.
Photo Courtesy New Braunfels Food Bank
The town was founded in 1845 by German settlers, allegedly because Prince Carl of Solms-Braunfels thought it was reminiscent of home. Its culture is still visible in many major establishments, from Naegelin’s Bakery — the oldest in Texas — to the Schlitterbahn waterpark, where a castle is modeled on one back in the German town.
However, it is also experiencing rapid change, with the population growing 56% between 2010 and 2020, placing it above 110,000 compared to a mere 19,000 in the 1990s.
Accordingly, the city has constructed more than 10,000 homes, and the median home value has grown by 73%. While it has been good for some local businesses and individuals who have gotten jobs at the new Continental facility or the TaskUs headquarters, others have felt left behind.
Photo Courtesy Schlitterbahn New Braunfels
No organization can speak to these changes more than the New Braunfels Food Bank, which was founded by the San Antonio Food Bank in 2010 to extend its services to the region. Now, it serves more than 11,000 people monthly across 29 counties in southwest Texas. Thirty-five percent of those served are children under age 18.
For example, in nearby Bexar County, one in four children does not know how they will get their next meal.
The organization’s website says that 25% of those served have to choose between paying for food or medical services and resources; many of these individuals are seniors. Forty-six percent of these households have at least one working adult but are still struggling, and 67% are making less than the federal poverty level.
The organization’s mission is to fight hunger in Southwest Texas through several methods. First, it wants to provide “food for today.” The New Braunfels Food Bank Kitchen Table operates a client-choice pantry at its 28,000-square-foot facility. Through this flagship program, which began in 2010, households in need of food assistance can schedule monthly appointments. They can take as many fruits and vegetables as their household needs, but other products are limited to 100 pounds.
In any month, in lieu of a client-choice pantry appointment, a household can schedule a Grab & Go drive-through pickup, where they will receive a bag pre-filled with curated staples. The food bank also operates pop-up distributions in other counties to better reach people where they are.
Photo Courtesy New Braunfels Food Bank
Separately, the Farmers Market Nutrition Program enables customers to buy fruits and vegetables with vouchers from Farmers Market Associations. A complementary Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program targets a demographic aged 60 and older, and home delivery is also available for seniors.
They also offer two federal programs that aim to feed kids: the Child and Adult Care Food Program (Kids Café) and the Summer Food Service Program (Summer Meals For Kids).
By partnering with 100 local organizations, the food bank is able to provide meals, groceries, and snacks to children at no cost from June 1 to August 11.
One person who has benefited from this work is Jose Ortega, a U.S. Army Veteran who served in the Vietnam War and grew up in New Braunfels. He told the organization that after he and his wife lost their jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic, times were hard.
“My funds only got so far; after three weeks, I didn’t even have pennies to my name,” he said. “If not for the New Braunfels Food Bank, I could not provide for me and my wife solely on my income. I thank God for the help provided by the New Braunfels Food Bank.”
Photo Courtesy New Braunfels Food Bank
The second part of the food bank’s mission is to provide “food for tomorrow,” which encompasses helping clients achieve more stable lives going forward. For example, the organization offers job assistance programs to help people find more secure and better-paying employment.
For example, a Job Readiness Program offers several services, including help crafting a resume or cover letter, one-on-one coaching during the job search, and mock interviews. There are also small group classes on topics like computer basics, financial literacy, and job readiness. Plus, case managers continue to check in after participants have secured employment. A Workforce Development Program, meanwhile, collaborates with local companies to set up on-the-spot interviews.
Photo Courtesy New Braunfels Food Bank
Additionally, the New Braunfels Food Bank offers benefits assistance, helping people apply for and renew benefits through programs like Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). There is also an NBU (New Braunfels Utilities) Utility Bill Assistance Program through which those experiencing financial hardship can apply for assistance in paying their electric, water, and wastewater bills.
Photo Courtesy New Braunfels Food Bank
The final part of the vision is “food for a lifetime,” which means achieving health and self-sufficiency. The food bank has a Nutrition, Health, and Wellness team of certified chefs, master gardeners, and nutrition professionals, encouraging better food choices and active lifestyles in the community.
A variety of nutrition classes cover topics ranging from reading and understanding food labels to healthy eating on a budget. Exercise classes like Zumba, led by certified instructors, help get people moving.
Viva Bien! is a bilingual monthly series taught by registered dieticians and professionals who walk adults through demonstrations on how to prevent or manage living with diabetes.
Family classes bring loved ones together, like through Kids Kitchen, where they can learn to cook. There are also free one to two-week-long summer camps for children to learn about and get hands-on experience with food, hydration, and physical activity.
Photo Courtesy New Braunfels Food Bank
All that being said, New Braunfels Food Bank is doing a lot for the community and is gearing up to do even more. The food bank was more than aware that housing was an issue for many community members.
“For the families that we feed in New Braunfels, we know rent eats first in every household budget. Rent eats first, and there is just nothing left over after rent is paid,” Eric Cooper, CEO of the New Braunfels Food Bank, told MySA.
There was a five-acre vacant lot next to the food bank, which the McKenna Foundation purchased to collaborate with the food bank on a “food and shelter campus.” However, even after teaming up with NB Housing Partners, “no one could ever get the project off the ground,” Cooper explained to the New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung.
In fact, the search for a nonprofit to accept the project lasted for eight years, partially due to construction expenses. However, food bank volunteers cut the grass and tended to the lot in the meantime.
Photo Courtesy New Braunfels Food Bank
When the food bank was finally asked to take on the development of the project, Cooper reminisced to the San Antonio Report, “We listened, but I think skeptically. We do food, we don’t do housing. … [But] what the San Antonio Food Bank does well is people.”
“Our board came to a long-deliberated place that suggested that what we do best is we serve neighbors,” he elaborated to Fast Company. “And if our neighbors have a need for food, we could do that, but if they have a need for housing, then maybe we should do that.”
MB Housing Partners donated two acres from the lot for the food bank to begin its next project. The process was met with some unfortunate delays, including facing a two-year permitting process, competing with other developments for local contractors, and navigating the pandemic. However, with a lot of donations and an extended timeline, the $12 million project, called the Apple Seeds Apartments, was about a month away from the construction phase as of the beginning of May.
Photo Courtesy New Braunfels Food Bank
Once construction is completed in about a year, 51 apartments will be available at a reduced rental price to families with children who make 80% or less than the area’s median income.
“[The program will] really help families that are in an upward trajectory,” Cooper said to MySA. “They’re families that are making their way to self-sufficiency and self-reliance, but they just need a little bit of time.”
“This apartment complex will give them the opportunity to live and work, and their kids go to school right here in the community,” in addition to the convenience of being situated right next to a food bank, he added to Kens5.
Cooper suggested to the San Antonio Report that “a profile could be a nursing student at the nursing school in New Braunfels who just needs a few more years ‘till they graduate, and then they’ll have the salary to live and work in the community.”
Photo Courtesy New Braunfels Food Bank
It is a transitional program, so the families will be able to live there for two to three years. “It’s not our intent to fill it and keep it filled,” Cooper explained to MySA. “We want to continue to turn those units so that we can help as many families as possible.”
The renters will take part in the food bank’s programming, learning more about topics like personal finance so they are prepared for the next phase of life after their time at the Apple Seeds Apartments.
At the end of the lease, they are also given a stipend to ease that transition. “It’s first-class housing, at below-market rents, with robust programming that develops them as a person and family,” Cooper summed it up to the New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung.
With applications opening in spring 2025 and construction estimated to be done by that summer, its impact on the community is obvious. However, beyond that, the Apple Seeds Apartments are also a monumental first. Cooper told Fast Company that, as far as he knew, it was the first affordable housing complex constructed by a food bank.
As he simplified for SATX Today, the success of the apartments will not be based on financial results but on people-oriented ones. “If we’re part of a resident’s journey to take them to a permanent housing situation or better living conditions, that’s success to me.”
Photo Courtesy New Braunfels Food Bank
