Photo: Danielle Duran Zecca/Amiga Amore.
Danielle Duran Zecca, co-owner of Amiga Amore in Highland Park, Los Angeles.
Well, in one way, this is a time of great opportunity. There are endless opportunities in the US to meet the growing needs. Endless opportunities to practice charity in daily life.
A chef in Los Angeles knew opportunity as soon as she saw it. The revealing moment took the form of government officers in masks snatching people off the streets.
Victoria Namkung reports the story at the Guardian.
“When Danielle Duran Zecca saw military-style immigration raids and people being snatched off the streets and put into unmarked vehicles in her native Los Angeles earlier this summer, she was in disbelief. …
“Duran Zecca, a James Beard Award nominated chef and co-owner of Amiga Amore in Highland Park, a historically Latino neighborhood in north-east LA [said] ‘I didn’t know what to do, but I knew how to feed people and love on people because that is exactly how I was brought up in my family.’
“When several of Duran Zecca’s workers expressed fear about coming into the restaurant, the chef had a realization.
“ ‘If they didn’t want to leave their homes, how many others were like this and how many weren’t eating,’ she said. Earlier in the year, Amiga Amore received donations that allowed the Mexican-Italian restaurant to give meals away to those affected by the LA wildfires, but this time she would need a different approach, one that made people feel safe.
“Duran Zecca began personally delivering free meals to 25 to 30 people every other Sunday in nearby Boyle Heights. …
“Since ICE began to infiltrate LA in June, once-bustling neighborhoods have become quiet. Vendors locked up stalls in the flower district. Popular taco stands and fruit carts are closed and some restaurants sit empty. Although it is unknown exactly how many people are staying home due to Ice’s aggressive arrests, immigration sweeps at restaurants, farms, Home Depots and even car washes have created a chilling effect on businesses that rely on immigrant labor.
Restaurants such as Amiga Amore and other groups from the food and hospitality industry are stepping in to help people in their community who have nowhere to turn – even while their own businesses are suffering economically. …
” ‘Latinos are not only the backbone to our industry, they are the industry,’ said Duran Zecca. ‘Behind every chef are Latino line cooks ready to make magic happen. All they want to do is work, make a living and feed their families.’
“To make her deliveries twice every month, Duran Zecca receives logistical support from her good friend Damián Diaz, the co-founder of No Us Without You, an LA-based non-profit that provides food security for undocumented people, including back of the house staff from bars and restaurants.
“ ‘The administration has been doubling down on making it much more difficult for the families in the community and also small grassroots organizations like us to really be impactful,’ said Diaz. In the past, No Us Without You had drive-through lines for food distribution, but stepped-up enforcement made that impossible, so they pivoted to working with a coalition of restaurants to serve up to 40 families every fortnight so they can shelter at home.
“ ‘This environment of fear in light of increased enforcement, and really excessive enforcement, is causing folks to miss out on some very key necessities such as doctor’s appointments and going to the grocery store,’ said Rita Fernández director of immigration policy project at UnidosUS, a Latino non-profit advocacy organization. …
“This summer, Congress allocated $170.7bn in additional funding for immigration and border enforcement … creating what some critics call a ‘deportation-industrial complex.’ …
“That’s why many others in the restaurant and non-profit industry have also been mobilizing to bring groceries to immigrants who are in hiding. The Oaxacan-Mediterranean restaurant X’tiosu in Boyle Heights, one of the US’s most heavily Latino-populated neighborhoods, packed 150 bags of fresh produce, dried pasta and other goods that were delivered to people in need by local Oaxacan youth in June and they have continued to support undocumented families. The student-led group, Raíces Con Voz, coordinated food and care package deliveries to more than 200 families, and Aquí Para La Comunidad, which operates throughout southern California, has a growing waitlist.
“Vanny Arias decided to host an impromptu food drive in front of the Offbeat Bar in Highland Park, where she’s a bartender, after realizing people staying home were likely in need of groceries. … Arias organized with other community activists and volunteers to start dispensing basics.
“Once she launched an Instagram account, she started hearing directly from desperate families. ‘People said: “My husband got arrested” or “We’re afraid to leave the house and my kids haven’t eaten in days,” ‘ said Arias. ‘When you’re on the ground you see the hurt and pain in their eyes and hear it in their voices.’
“Since July, Arias’s Nela Food Distribution has grown to deliver free groceries to 150 people in and around Highland Park with the help of community donations, two local food warehouses, a bakery and a team of volunteers. ‘We’re a bunch of people who love their community,’ said Arias. ‘I don’t care what color you are, we’re freaking humans and I’m here for you. You’re not alone.’ ”
More at the Guardian, here. The Guardian is free, but please consider donating to them.
Suzanne's Mom's Blog 
This is a beautiful movement to keep people fed. Thanks for the good news, although it made me cry to think of the suffering people are going through.
Yes, kindness shone to people who are suffering is both sad and beautiful.