San Antonio Standard

SAN ANTONIO – As hoarding supplies in response to the COVID-19 crisis becomes a national concern, major chains that donate surplus to elderly residents on restricted incomes have come up short due to their dwindling stock.

To most shoppers who can rush to grab what they wish to in the frenzy, the thought of low-income seniors going hungry because the shelves are bare may not enter their minds.

Bihl Haus Arts, a community nonprofit organization, distributes food donated by major chains to low-income elderly residents, according to reporting by the Rivard Report. Kellen McIntyre started the program in 2014, after noticing that residents of The Sorento, an affordable apartment complex for seniors, had no food on the weekends due to a gap in the city’s Senior Nutrition Program.

On one recent Saturday, there was simply nothing for them to distribute.

“One of the things that’s important is for people to understand what the hoarding does,” McIntyre said. ”It’s mind-blowing that people who can afford food are going out and raking the shelves down to the metal … when it isn’t necessary.”

Meals on Wheels San Antonio does help some of the lowest income residents with food over the weekends, according to CEO Vinsen Faris. However, there is a group of low-income seniors who depend on the Senior Nutrition Program but are not low-enough income to qualify for Meals on Wheels.

Faris said community donations are boosting an emergency effort by Meals on Wheels to help those residents caught in the middle. They plan to provide residents such as those at The Sorento with two-day cold food packs to cover the weekends.

Gov. Greg Abbott recently announced a $16.2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration that can assist in making certain low-income elderly residents have food.