San Antonio Food Bank seeks used laptops to help residents in need access the Internet | San Antonio News | San Antonio

Along with its other heavy lifting during the pandemic, the San Antonio Food Bank has joined the effort to narrow the Alamo City’s digital divide.

The nonprofit is launching a new program this week called Get Connected! which will provide digital literacy classes, affordable broadband access, refurbished laptops and referrals to training programs. It will start with an inaugural class of 20 students.

With 29.8% of its households lacking a high-speed Internet connection, the San Antonio area is among the 10 worst large U.S. metros for broadband access, according to a recent study based on data from U.S. Census Bureau and the Pew Research Center. What’s more, 9% of Texas households have no device to access the internet, additional research from Purdue University shows.

To help solve that inequity, the Food Bank is asking residents to donate laptops in good condition. The machines must have chargers and purchased no longer than four years ago. The nonprofit will refurbish devices and provide them to clients who would otherwise have no computer access.

The Food Bank is launching Get Connected! with help from Feeding Texas, Google Fiber and the San Antonio Public Library.

For more information on how to donate laptops, or about the program, contact Yesenia Bazan at (210) 431-8380 or [email protected]. 

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