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In Wimauma, hurricane victims find comfort in hot meals

Mars October 15, 2024

WIMAUMA — Domitila López walked a half-mile from her home in Wimauma to Bethune Park in search of food for her and her two young children. López, a 40-year-old Mexican mother, was welcomed by Red Cross volunteers. They were handing out lunches to families affected by Hurricane Milton.

“It was worth the long walk,” López commented. “I have nothing at home.”

The hot meal López received – a pork sandwich, green beans and a cup of diced peaches – was a relief amid the hardships she faced, from a roof partially destroyed by high winds to her children’s beds destroyed by floods, leading to the loss of all her children food and milk after a power outage.

Community leaders and neighbors supported the aid effort by using private WhatsApp groups to share reliable information in Spanish and answer residents’ questions about the distribution of food and other essential resources.

Red Cross spokesperson Taylor Sausen said they sent three mobile units to the Wimauma area to deliver up to 1,000 lunches. The food was prepared by Operation BBQ Relief, a nonprofit founded in 2011 to help tornado victims in Joplin, Missouri.

“We’re going to be here and in other parts of the region to provide help to all of these families,” Sausen said. “We’re going to work this way for a long time.”

Cecilia Maldonado, a 30-year-old Guatemalan immigrant and mother of four, said emergency aid was vital. Maldonado and his family spent the night in Milton at a local shelter. When they returned home the next day, she found that the water had damaged the interior of the house.

Dish of the day: a pork sandwich, green beans and a cup of diced peaches. (JUAN CARLOS CHAVEZ | Schedule)

“It’s been difficult for all of us because we didn’t get power back until Sunday,” Maldonado said. “That’s why most of us didn’t eat hot food. Everything in the fridge had to be thrown away.

Local volunteers, like Ana Lamb and Latoya Lovett, joined the Red Cross lunch distribution.

Lovett, who grew up in Wimauma, said efforts to bring food to those in need build community and solidarity. She drove her family’s car to Bethune Park with bottled water to donate.

“We are Wimauma, a community full of unity,” Lovett said. “Our community deserves this support, and whenever we need it, we will be there. »