Volunteers deliver 2,400 tamales to farmworkers in Half Moon Bay
SAN JOSE, Calif. - A Christmas caravan, battling pouring rain, journeyed from San Jose to Half Moon Bay on Wednesday morning to deliver thousands of tamales to farmworkers.
The group made 2,400 tamales as a gesture of appreciation for the hard work of farmworkers.
"I have a real care about people who work with the land. And we’re so fortunate we have these people helping us," said Jean Farrington, who was volunteering to deliver the tamales with her husband."We would not be eating if we did not have these people helping with the food we have at our table."
This is the third year of the caravan.
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Organizers said the tamales were made with love to bring a little joy to these families during the holidays.
"It takes quite a bit of time, we have to cook them all because a lot of them don’t have kitchens, or they don’t have electricity, and they’re not living in the best conditions. So we want to bring them tamales that are already cooked and that they can eat," said Darlene Tenes, executive director of Farmworker Caravan.
Members of the San Jose Fire Department are going along and bringing dozens of donated toys for the workers' kids. They are also bringing cozy socks, jackets, Christmas cookies and stockings.
"At Thanksgiving, I had my family stuffing the stockings and that means a lot that my grandson was involved," said Farrington.
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The group will go to six farms, meeting farmworkers and their families face-to-face, making the donations even more special.
"You have a better appreciation of the work they do. You get to actually talk to them, meet them one on one, interact with them and establish friendships," said Martin Mora with the San Jose Fire Department.
One of the locations the group is visiting is Concord Farms, which was one of two farms involved in San Mateo County's deadliest shooting this January. Seven workers were killed by a former co-worker.
"It’s particularly important for us to go back there this year, and it was really hard because a lot of the children were present during the shootings ,and so it’s very tragic for them. And so we are going back there this year, and we’re bringing them lots of toys and gifts," said Tenes.