Volunteers at a Twin Cities warehouse moved fast Monday.
About two dozen people rapidly unpacked and organized crates of beans, rice, noodles, vegetables, baby formula, diapers and more in the morning. They loaded up hundreds of bags that will be distributed to families across the metro who are too frightened to leave their homes as federal agents continue what the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is calling the largest immigration crackdown in American history.
“I feel so much hope when I see this kind of community response,” Julie Zhou, a board member at the nonprofit TC Food Justice.
Throughout the Twin Cities, community groups, faith congregations and families at schools and daycares are stepping up to help neighbors who fear going about their daily routines amidst the surge in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity. Several people have been detained by ICE in grocery store parking lots, at bus stops or dropping of children at school.
TC Food Justice is a food rescue organization, meaning it collects food that grocery stores and cooperatives are getting rid of and distributes it to food shelves before it goes to waste, according to executive director Anne Hill.
But right now, those food shelves are seeing a massive decline in foot traffic.
“Last week we heard they have a 50-to-80% reduction in the amount of food they’re distributing because people are afraid to leave home,” Hill said.
So the group decided to pivot. Hill connected with members of teachers unions throughout the metro, and asked if they could help distribute food to families who aren’t able to go buy groceries or visit a food bank. The response was yes.
“We’re not capable of going door-to-door, so who knows the families that need it the most? Teachers,” Hill said.
Working with teachers allows deliveries to be made to families by familiar faces, and gives the educators a chance to connect with students who may be staying home out of fear.
One organizer of the teachers’ effort spoke to Sahan Journal on condition that only her first name be used in an effort to protect her students. Katie, a teacher with Minneapolis Public Schools, said that at some schools in the district, the majority of students are attending class online. Kids are bored, she said, and families are in need of relief.
Families are very grateful for the deliveries, Katie said. Many don’t want to accept charity and can afford their own groceries, but are concerned about being out in public. The scale of the effort is huge, with staff across schools contributing as they can, she said.
“Food is getting out to thousands of families every week and hundreds of teachers are organizing this,” Katie said.
On Sunday, volunteers dropped off enough food and supplies to load 15 pallets full of boxes, Hill said. Volunteers on the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday packed those donations into 815 bags to be distributed to families in need.
TC Food Justice normally focuses on shelf stable foods, but for this effort it is gathering produce, meat and mainstay supplies like toilet paper and diapers. The group is learning on the fly how to best distribute fresh broccoli and frozen chicken, Hill said.
Volunteers went out of their way to buy food items that are staples in many Latino cuisines like masa and beans.
“We believe that everyone should eat the way they want to eat,” Zhou said.
The decrease in foot traffic at ethnic grocery stores and food shelves across the metro is concerning, Zhou said, because when people aren’t out in the community it’s hard to know if they’ve been detained. Zhou is a Chinese American who grew up on public food assistance and knows how important it is to ensure people have the food they need.
The food rescue movement is about moving what exists in abundance to those in need, Zhou said. Right now, many in need aren’t able to go out on their own, so the movement is adapting.
For volunteers like Bailey Rehnberg, helping pack up food and supplies is a way to help those in need instead of soaking in bad news at home. Getting out and doing something tangible feels good, she said.
So on Monday morning, some quickly unboxed and sorted donations, others packed bags, and a few managed trash. The boldest dashed out to arriving trucks in the freezing cold to carry in new donations.
“It’s just a chance to be a part of fighting back, in community, against ICE,” Rehnberg said.
