Brooklyn, USA
In what felt like a year marked by the repeated failure of the federal government to adequately respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic fallout it created, particularly among historically marginalized populations, community organizers stepped up to fill in the gaps. I spent the day with Red de Pueblos Transnacionales and the American Indian Community House (AICH) as they provided food relief to indigenous families in Brooklyn's Kensington neighborhood. The organizations teamed up every other week over the course of 2020 to distribute food and critical supplies like masks and toilet paper to food-insecure indigenous families across New York City.
Volunteers pack bags for distribution in the basement of a small business that donated its space for the day. Red de Pueblos Transnacionales and AICH rely on their connections to community businesses and individuals throughout the city for distribution sites.
Each family received one bag of produce filled with bananas, carrots, potatoes, green tomatoes, peppers onions and more.
Yogui Ariza, Red de Pueblos Transnacionales coordinator for these bi-weekly distributions, hands dry goods and produce to an indigenous family.
Critical dry goods like toilet paper and masks were distributed to each family as well as beans, tortillas, rice, soap and more.
Yogui packs surgical masks while waiting for the next family to arrive.
Bags sit in the basement, ready to be distributed.
Luis, a volunteer with Red de Pueblos Transnacionales, brings packed bags up to the distribution table on street level.
Remnants from a bag of onions hastily packed for distribution.