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The Food Basket Program Mano a Mano celebrates it's first anniversary, a network created by Day Laborers, the Pasadena Immigrant and Faith Communities that has distributed over 600,000 in food assistance, the event took place in Pasadena on Friday, June 18, 2021. (Photo by James Carbone)
Ramiro Vega, left, and Ramiro Martinez both receive a Certificate of Appreciation during the Mano a Mano first year celebration in Pasadena on Friday, June 18, 2021. (Photo by James Carbone)
The Food Basket Program Mano a Mano celebrates it's first anniversary, a network created by Day Laborers, the Pasadena Immigrant and Faith Communities that has distributed over 600,000 in food assistance, the event took place in Pasadena on Friday, June 18, 2021. (Photo by James Carbone)
Patricia Telley receives a Certificate of Appreciation during the Mano a Mano first year celebration in Pasadena on Friday, June 18, 2021. (Photo by James Carbone)
Guests bow their heads in prayer for those whose lives were lost during recent Covid 19 pandemic during the Mano a Mano first year celebration in Pasadena on Friday, June 18, 2021. (Photo by James Carbone)
Herminia Uribe receives a Certificate of Appreciation during the Mano a Mano first year celebration in Pasadena on Friday, June 18, 2021. (Photo by James Carbone)
Pablo Alvarado the founder and leader of Mano a Mano says a few words during the Mano a Mano first year celebration in Pasadena on Friday, June 18, 2021. (Photo by James Carbone)
Honolavos Del Norte musical group perform during the Mano a Mano first year celebration in Pasadena on Friday, June 18, 2021. (Photo by James Carbone)
Mana a Mano, a joint assistance assistance network for families created at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, celebrated its one-year anniversary on Friday at New Covenant Church, honoring the numerous community agencies and nonprofits who have participated.
Since its creation, the network said its almost 400 volunteers have helped about 6,000 families, distributed more than $600,000 in food baskets and over $170,000 in cash and rent assistance. The program has also developed similar programs in cities across the U.S., according to organizer Pablo Alvarado, of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON).
“When local workers had to decide whether to go out to work to feed their families, and risk a COVID infection, or shelter at home, we created a way for them to not have to worry about putting food on their tables,” said Alvarado.
The Pasadena Community Job Center, which developed the program last summer, saw the need to create a system to urgently respond to the public health and unemployment crisis impacting immigrant communities at a disproportionate rate, it said in an announcement Friday.
The Pasadena Community Job Center has since engaged with over 300 volunteers to help with the food distribution and home deliveries, along with developing and distributing Covid-19 safety information in Spanish, providing safety training, distributing PPE, setting up a cash assistance fund and distributing the money to impacted workers.
The celebration on Friday honored its partnerships with The Pasadena Covenant Church, the Pasadena Community Foundation, The City of Pasadena, the Pasadena Public Health Department, Epicenter Church, Lake Avenue Church, Pasadenans Organizing for Progress, the Grocery Outlet in Altadena, and other local community groups.
“The food baskets have been a blessing to our families now that many of us are unemployed due to the pandemic,” said Sofia Salmeron, participant and volunteer at Mano a Mano Program.
The program continues to assist the community by holding two food drives a month with the assistance of its staff and over a hundred volunteers from the community, as well as rental assistance and providing resources to families in need, even as the pandemic wanes.
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