Dez Rodriguez, 33, remembers an empty stomach. She remembers a mother who sold food stamps to support a drug habit. And she remembers sharing a house with 10 relatives, using the restroom outside and knowing lots of neighborhood kids who felt like she did. 

Hungry.

The food insecurity of her youth has been replaced by a drive to feed the hungry. As co-owner of The Newstand, a near downtown sandwich and coffee shop, Rodriguez collects barrels of food for the San Antonio Food Bank.

She also volunteers for the Food Bank’s Hunters for the Hungry program, which works with local hunters to contribute animals for donation. On Thanksgiving, she’ll volunteer with her partner Page Pressley at the Food Bank’s kitchen at Haven for Hope.

“I grew up in poverty,” said Rodriguez, an Edinburg native. “My mom was a drug addict. Giving to the food bank is like giving back to my roots, to the people and kids I knew who grew up with food insecurity. I know where the food is going.”

The Newstand is one of many local restaurants supporting the San Antonio Food Bank during the Thanksgiving holidays. The food bank reached its goal of securing 16,000 turkeys to distribute, in part, through the financial contributions of Dutch Bros., Bakery Lorraine, Whataburger and others.

“I think of Thanksgiving as the Super Bowl of food,” said Eric Cooper, president and CEO of the San Antonio Food Bank. “It’s the most celebrated event around a meal. It centers around a turkey. When I think of organizations and people that donate, they probably don’t realize the full impact of their generosity.”

Cooper recalled delivering a turkey to a single mother on the East Side. Unable to provide a Thanksgiving meal for her family, the woman had arranged for her two daughters to eat with neighbors who barely had enough food to feed another person. The mother planned to stay in and skip the holiday meal.

“After I knocked, she came to the door and just started crying,” Cooper said. “She said, ‘Now I’m going to be able to have my daughters at home.’”

The San Antonio Food Bank and Bexar County held a food distribution event earlier this month that served 500 families. Credit: Amber Esparza / San Antonio Report

More than 30 local Dutch Bros. franchises supported the food bank through a Giveback Day, donating $1 for every drink sold. San Antonio-area Dutch Bros. raised $31,438.57.

“The money donated was to help fund the turkeys that will be the centerpiece of thousands of Thanksgiving meals,” said Jasmine Westlund, operator of Dutch Bros. West Central. “We also encourage our team members to volunteer at the Food Bank during the holiday season. Last week, 12 of my managers and myself served at the Haven for Hope facility.” 

Bakery Lorraine held a fall dinner and food and toy drive to support the Food Bank. Whataburger hosted food drives and provided financial support for two Food Bank fundraising events: Harvest of Hope, a silent auction, and Turkey Trot, a 5K Run & Walk held on Thanksgiving.

“Culinary professionals that come to our events are shaping us and influencing us,” Cooper said. “I hear chefs express gratitude that we give them the opportunity to provide meals to the homeless and they find such joy in that.”

Giving back

Rodriguez understands the joy. She feels connected to those who visit the Food Bank.  

“I spent most of my childhood hungry,” she said. “School was the only place I would have meals. In middle school, I would sneak into the cafeteria kitchen and search for prepackaged banana bread. It was my favorite breakfast. My childhood was fueled by water from the hose and snacks I stole from ‘Juniors,’ a neighborhood bodega.”

In her youth, Rodriguez says, she would take a Lone Star debit card from her mother and buy sliced bread and chocolate frosting.

“This was my life,” she said. “Every day for a long time.”

As Rodriguez grew older, she resolved to be different than her parents, to make decisions that would position herself for a better life. She would look for a religious man who kept The Ten Commandments and lived within boundaries, or a man who had overcome addiction.

Dez Rodriguez, right, and Page Pressley, owners of The Newstand coffee shop on Broadway, will be working at the San Antonio Food Bank’s Haven for Hope kitchen on Thanksgiving Day. Credit: Amber Esparza / San Antonio Report

Enter Page Pressley, then 12 years sober from addiction. The two met at a gym in Austin and became inseparable. They moved to San Antonio in 2021 to pursue different careers. He became director of culinary operations at Pearl. She worked as a pediatric speech therapist.

Wanting to spend more time together, the couple considered possibilities on a River Walk stroll in 2023. “What about,” Rodriguez asked, “a coffee shop?” Voila. The Newstand was born. 

Pressley brought considerable culinary experience to the kitchen. He worked at Emmer & Rye in Austin for nearly four years and once served as a personal chef for Oscar-winning actor Tommy Lee Jones. Rodriguez, meanwhile, left speech therapy to build The Newstand, which became a hotspot on Broadway.

“One reason we decided to open shop is that we never saw each other,” Pressley said. “And now we see each other every day.”

Pressley and Rodriguez are launching a second concept, The Dispatch, on East Mulberry next year. The cafe will showcase Texas and local ingredients through coffees, teas, juices, smoothies, toasts and a new pastry menu. 

They’ll continue supporting the Food Bank. Pressley served in the Haven for Hope kitchen last Thanksgiving, making biscuits and washing dishes, while Rodriguez worked at The Newstand. Pressley will do it again on Thursday — but this time with Rodriguez by his side.

“I’m super excited to be there this year,” Rodriguez said. “I feel like there’s a lot of work to do. I want to help as many people as I can.”