New Initiative Aims to Close San Antonio's Digital Divide

The San Antonio (TX) Food Bank has teamed up with the San Antonio Public Library, nonprofit Feeding Texas and internet service provider (ISP) Google Fiber to spearhead "Get Connected!," an effort to bolster digital literacy rates. The partners are distributing free refurbished laptops, holding monthly dual-language classes on basic computer skills and raising awareness of internet assistance programs. Such programs offer free or discounted internet access to low-income families. A significant percentage of Texas households still have to make do without internet, and the issue is particularly pronounced in San Antonio, the state's second-largest city. More than 38 percent of San Antonio households had "no fixed internet access" as of June 2020, according to Jordana Barton, senior adviser to the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.