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Around 500 families in need received free food during a drive-through distribution at Freeman Coliseum on Wednesday.
The county and San Antonio Food Bank organized the event as SNAP benefits to local families remain in limbo.
County Judge Peter Sakai joined county workers to volunteer to place food in vehicles.
"I've been in the car line, so to speak, distributing food myself as the county judge and I've had people in tears thanking me because of what this means to them and their families."
Local resident Margie Hernandez was among those taking advantage of the drive-through. She saw her SNAP benefits disappear with the federal government shutdown.
She hopes lawmakers in Washington D.C. will think about the people in SA.
"You know it's a long month. We don't know what's ahead. We're just praying things will work out and people up there will think about what's going on down here."
Sakai said all the needs of the local hungry cannot be met without the federal government. He said a food insecurity summit is planned for Nov. 19 to discuss how the community can help fill some of the $50 million monthly loss of SNAP benefit to locals in need.
