Boerne, TX – March 23, 2018 – On Friday, March 23, 2018, Hill Country Family Services (HCFS) was honored at the 2018 Golden Apple Awards dinner. San Antonio Food Bank CEO Eric Cooper bestowed the award on HCFS as the top nutritional organization out of 500+ partner agencies. This is the third consecutive year that Hill Country Family Services has been recognized as a leader in Central Texas for professional services that provide programs to assist children, families and seniors.

In January 2017, Hill Country Family Services opened the doors to the Corner Cupboard Grocery and Nutrition Center, which completely transformed the Kendall County community’s approach to charitable services. “The old food pantry model of throwing a bunch of food into a box and handing it to clients is dead wrong,” said HCFS Chief Executive Officer Jamie Cox. “It’s wasteful. There’s no choice. And more importantly, there’s zero dignity for the family receiving assistance.”

The Corner Cupboard was designed based on a study of best practices in for-profit and nonprofit industries. “Our store is a combination of HEB, Whole Foods and a little mom-and-pop store that has relationships with all its customers,” Cox described. “Ensuring that the most vulnerable children and families in our community have the most nutritious food available to them is critical to them surviving the crisis and getting back to thriving at school, work and home.”

“The strength of our organization is that we take on a family’s crisis from top to bottom,” explained Claudia Clark, HCFS’ Director of Client Services. “We assess and address physical, mental, financial and nutritional health, and the trauma being experienced. Their journey to stability and independence includes healthy foods – fresh produce, dairy and meats. You can’t heal body and mind without the right foods.”

In addition to providing nutritious groceries and a linkage to HCFS’ other programs, the Corner Cupboard offers a diabetes prevention program, nutrition education, cooking classes and volunteer opportunities. An awardee for three consecutive years, HCFS was honored as Best Multi-Purpose Agency of the Year in 2016 and 2017, and has now received the coveted Nutrition Partner of the Year in 2018.