{"id":44381,"date":"2020-07-02T10:39:42","date_gmt":"2020-07-02T17:39:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/eltecolote.org\/content\/?p=44381"},"modified":"2020-07-31T09:25:16","modified_gmt":"2020-07-31T16:25:16","slug":"affected-by-covid-19-and-cant-afford-food-start-here","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eltecolote.org\/content\/en\/affected-by-covid-19-and-cant-afford-food-start-here\/","title":{"rendered":"Affected by COVID-19 And Can\u2019t Afford Food? Start Here"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The COVID-19 pandemic has economically affected thousands of people\u2014unemployment continues to rise, as does the number of cases. Many people, now more than ever, are in need of resources for their families, and one of them is food.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While not all food banks are open due to the pandemic, many have continued the work of helping their communities to survive during these difficult times. Two such groups are the Mission Food Hub and the San Francisco Neighbors Solidarity Network.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, starting from their location at Alabama Street, the line to receive food from the Mission Food Hub wraps around several streets while people keep their social distance. With their neat organization and feeling of community, the Food Hub has managed to help hundreds of people in the city, who do not shy away from expressing their gratitude.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey are helping the San Francisco community,\u201d said Marisela Veliz, who lost her job as a childcare worker two months ago. \u201cThey will not receive anything back from us but maybe someday we can give back the help.\u201d
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Mission Food Hub started in the garage of its founder Roberto Hernandez and continued to grow until it filled three rooms of a warehouse in the Mission District. Hernandez started by calling his close friends asking them if they could donate groceries to families. But when he saw the vast necessity, the project grew.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been like magic. I really believe it has been like a miracle in the Mission. Puro milagro\u201d said Hernandez. The project that started by giving food to 500 families now gives groceries to around 7,000, according to Hernandez.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Roberto Hernandez poses for a portrait at what he\u2019s calling the Mission Latino Food Hub, Tuesday May 12, 2020. Photo: Mabel Jim\u00e9nez<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Hernandez, who is the artistic director of Carnaval San Francisco (which was canceled due to COVID-19), used his connections to aid people in the community. The biggest donations have been from Goya Foods and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The Mission Food Hub secured a donation of 1,400 boxes of produce every week from the USDA. The effort is not only giving food to families, they also think about the products that people need.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI really make sure that the Mission Food Hub is culturally appropriate for our community,\u201d said Hernandez. \u201cBecause I believe that we should be able to eat things we like.\u201d For Mission Food Hub, Hernandez realized that base for maize dough (masa) is a highly sought product by families, the majority of whom are Latinos.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey give us what we use most in the kitchen,\u201d said Veliz. \u201cSometimes they give us products to make tortillas.\u201d
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Veliz heard about the Mission Food Hub a month ago from her sister and since then, she and her neighbor go to receive food.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aura Cabrera, another visitor to the Food Hub, liked that they give out dairy products because she has a young daughter. \u201cBecause of the unemployment, the resources that they give us are a big help,\u201d said Cabrera.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cabrera lost her job as a cook in a Mexican restaurant in the Mission on March 16. She heard about the Food Hub from her daughter\u2019s school and has gone to several other food banks to help feed her family of seven.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Community volunteers put together food packages at what community organizer Roberto Hernandez calls the Mission Latino Food Hub, May 12, 2020. Photo: Mabel Jim\u00e9nez<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, the SF Neighbors Solidarity Network also makes an effort to deliver healthy and organic food, along with other resources such as face masks and hand sanitizer to the elderly and homeless people in San Francisco.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe do our shopping ourselves so that we can really make sure the quality of the bags is really high and that people are getting really healthy food,\u201d said Natalia Kresich, organizer of this network.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It all started with Kresich and her friend Shafagh Farnoud, who started helping their elderly neighbors, for whom it was not safe to go out to shop for supplies. In the process of helping and checking in on their neighbors, the project grew and they currently help more than 80 households in the city.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Its Wednesday! SF Neighbors Solidarity Network delivery day\u2014 we go all over the City delivering bags with healthy groceries, masks and tenant\u2019s rights info to elders in almost every neighborhood in SF. pic.twitter.com\/YoZAVAYqtg<\/a><\/p>— San Francisco Neighbors Solidarity Network \ud83c\udf09 (@Solidarity_SF) June 25, 2020<\/a><\/blockquote>