"The line of people waiting their turn for free boxes of food from Santa Maria Urban Ministry on the edge of downtown San Jose used to snake out the parking lot and down a full block. Most were low-income immigrants with children trying to get by in high-priced Silicon Valley. But ever since the Trump Administration cracked down on people living in the country illegally early this year and sent masked federal agents to make sweeping arrests in immigrant-heavy communities, the families are too fearful to gather in the open. The line is gone."
"So now, like other local nonprofits with clients experiencing the same fears, Santa Maria Urban Ministry is taking food to the people, setting up market-style giveaways at schools and taking pallets of groceries to secret places where immigrants feel safer. We are doing things to get food to people without drawing attention to them or to us, said Louis Powell, director of the nonprofit."
Longstanding public food distributions in San Jose no longer draw immigrant families because fear of immigration raids prevents people from gathering publicly. Santa Maria Urban Ministry shifted from on-site giveaways to delivering groceries at schools and to discreet locations where clients feel safer. Staff attempt to reassure clients and prepare to shelter them if enforcement appears, but fear persists and attendance remains low. Donations are decreasing while demand grows, leading the nonprofit to solicit external charity support to fund transportation, increase grocery supplies, and expand literacy programs for affected families.
Read at www.mercurynews.com
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