South Bay caravan brings spirit of Halloween to kids of farmworkers

SAN JOSE, Calif. - For months, the Farmworker Caravan has been distributing food and necessities to those in need. But this time, they wanted to add a little Halloween treat for the farmworkers' kids.

The group put out the call to volunteers and the response was overwhelming.
 
They asked for 800 Halloween goodie bags filled with candy and spooky trinkets. They recieved thousands.
 
"People were so excited to make these bags. I literally put it on social media and I got bags the same day. People ran out to the store, made the bags, and dropped them off the same day," said Darlene Tenes, organizer of the Farmworker Caravan.
 
Since April, volunteers have been driving carloads of food and supplies to agricultural areas to distribute. They say it's a way to give back to the farmworkers who have already endured wildfires, heatwaves, and the pandemic to deal with.
 
"This is a hard time for all people but especially for farmworkers and their children," said volunteer Patty Soriano.
 
And so this week, the children are getting a little something extra. Volunteers stuffed bags with everything from candies and cookies to small toys.
 
"We want to make sure we can at least give them a smile on their face. I know its hard times right now, especially with no trick or treating. So what is the next best thing to do? Give them some goodie bags," said Dylan Wooten-Kincart with Latinos@Amazon.
 
One of the drop-off sites is Holy Cannoli in downtown San Jose. Owner Jamie Whitmore said she's been overwhelmed by people's generosity and figures they need to channel their Halloween spirit somehow.
 
She said, "Seeing how Halloween has pretty much been canceled this year, we want to make sure that all the children feel special and that they have something to feel excited about."
 
The Farmworker Caravan is taking donations up until noon on Friday at the following locations: 

Santa Clara County
Holy Cannoli, 138 E. Santa Clara St., San Jose
 
Santa Cruz County
Catholic Charities 610 Frederick St, Santa Cruz
 
San Benito County
Mission San Juan Bautista
406 2nd St, San Juan Bautista
 
The goodie bags and other items will be distributed on Saturday at Mission San Juan Bautista.