Other groups also donate

ery day until the food runs out. She stood outside Ramirez’s house Wednesday afternoon organizing leftovers from the morning rush.

There were boxes of potatoes and bags of black beans and onions. They ran out of rice, bananas, carrots and noodles earlier that day, she said.

“People come from everywhere,” Mauricio said. “They are thankful that we are doing this because many need it.”

The volunteers get donations from local stores, organizations, neighbors, and sometimes from their own gardens and pantries.

Ramirez said one day the volunteers were offered a donation of tomatoes from a grocery warehouse in Otay Mesa and later discovered a semi-truck filled with tomatoes parked outside his home.

“It was sort of a miracle,” Ramirez said.

Shane Parmely, a middle school teacher in southeastern San Diego, volunteers to find donations.

She also worked with teachers to collect money and books for kids. Across from the food donations table were five cardboard boxes filled with books and some donated clothing for small children. Parmely is thankful Ramirez opened his front yard to this effort because she knows many students and families are struggling, she said.

“We know that our students aren’t eating right,” Parmely said, her voice breaking. “All the families surrounding Christian’s neighborhood are my students.”

Parmely said this crisis has been especially hard for students who come from immigrant families, because many don’t have access to government assistance programs.

When they do, Ramirez said, some families still struggle to navigate the system. The demand at the food stand is a reminder of that, he said.

Yet, it’s nice to see people coming together, he said.

“All of that is happening in my front yard,” he said. “It gives you that sense of hope that, although this community has been hard hit by the pandemic, people still laugh, share stories and recipes.”