Food Assistance

Volunteer handing a bag of groceries to a young smiling couple

Providing Supplemental Food Assistance

The Society of St. Vincent de Paul, Our Lady of Guadalupe Helotes Conference, provides food assistance to individuals and families in need at our food pantry. The pantry offers a variety of non-perishable food, including fresh produce and meat, when available.

Food Pantry Hours of Operation (through 3/31/2025):
Monday, Thursdays, Fridays: 1 p.m. – 3 p.m.
Wednesdays, Saturdays: 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Closed on Sundays and Tuesdays

NEW HOURS EFFECTIVE 4/1/2025:
Mondays, Tuesdays, Fridays: 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
Wednesdays and Saturdays: 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Closed on Sundays and Thursdays

If You Need Food Assistance

Visit us during our regular business hours – no appointment necessary – using the following Intake Form. Volunteers will be available to help fill out the form, or you can bring a completed copy with you.

INTAKE FORM (ENGLISH)
INTAKE FORM (ESPANOL)

Food Assistance FAQs

If you don’t see an answer to a question you have about food assistance,
please get in touch with us.

You do not need to make an appointment for food assistance. Appointments are only required for utility assistance. You can visit usduring our normal business hours. Make sure you check our Contact Us page for our hours of operation and weather-related and holiday closures.

We provide assistance to neighbors in need who live within our Conference area – the parish boundaries of Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church in Helotes. To find out if you live within our Conference area, please contact us at [email protected] or 210-695-5683.
 
If you do not live within our Conference area, our volunteers will provide you with food and then refer you to the food pantry nearest to your home for future food assistance.

We have reusable cloth bags donated by H-E-B and paper and plastic bags. We encourage you to return the reusable cloth H-E-B bags the next time you pick up food from us.

Food is distributed to eligible individuals and families twice a month.

Shopping inside the food pantry is limited to one neighbor at a time. It is also determined by the number of neighbors being served at one time by the volunteers who are working that day.
 
Neighbors who have any symptoms of illness will be encouraged to wait outside on our patio or inside their cars.

On your first visit, you will be asked to provide your photo ID so our volunteers can verify if you live within our Conference area. Next, you will be asked to complete our Intake Form and then you will receive the amount of food that corresponds to the number of people documented in your family.

Our volunteers will place the filled grocery bag(s) on a cart that will be brought outside and taken to your vehicle. For future visits, you will need to show your photo ID. We are a smoke-free facility, so there is to be no smoking anywhere on the property. We kindly request that all Neighbors treat each other and our volunteers with respect. At no time are any Neighbors allowed to bring alcohol, drugs or weapons of any kind onto the property.

If you do not live within our Conference area, our volunteers will provide you with food and then refer you to the food pantry nearest to your home for future food assistance.

The food pantry is run by the Society of St. Vincent de Paul volunteers.

Our parish community donates some items, and others are purchased from the San Antonio Food Bank. We rely heavily on the people, businesses, and churches in our community for donated food.

Our basic inventory includes canned vegetables, fruit, pasta sauce, and packaged food such as cereal, pasta, bread, rice, and beans. We also offer frozen meat (beef, pork, chicken) and fresh produce – when available. We try to restock our shelves weekly. However, when you visit, some items might be out of stock due to what is donated by our parish community and available from the San Antonio Food Bank.

Food bags are prepared in advance. We are occasionally able to make food substitutions, but they are subject to availability. We largely depend on donations and can’t predict what food items will be donated.

If you cannot pick up food, please write a letter of consent indicating who you’re allowing to pick up on your behalf. The note should include your name, the name of your proxy (friend, relative, neighbor), a statement that you are appointing this person to pick up food only on your behalf, your signature, and the date. This letter must be renewed every year.
 
The person picking up on your behalf must show their photo ID when picking up your food.