CAMACOL's 39th annual food basket giveaway hopes to ease holiday strain
MIAMI - Hundreds of South Florida families lined up before dawn near Loan Depot Park to take part in a long-standing Miami tradition.
On Wednesday, the line formed on NW 16th Avenue and W. Flagler Street in Little Havana for the Latin Chamber of Commerce's Jabas holiday food basket giveaway at the CAMACOL tower on Flagler Street.
Food baskets were only available to people in vehicles, no walk-ups were allowed. The distribution got underway at 7 a.m.
The first person in line was Juanita Alvarez who camped out overnight.
"There is a lot of need, believe me. Many people are not here because they don't have cars and that made me feel bad. All the items in the supermarket went really high so that's why we are grateful for the Latin Chamber of Commerce doing this for 39 years," she said.
Ever since the pandemic the number of grocery bags to be distributed has dropped. Whereas the number used to be in the thousands, it's now just several hundred. This year they are giving out 750 bags, a little more than last year's 700.
In 2023, the director of the event said rising costs have been tough for everyone and so while they didn't increase the number of bags, they increased the items in the bag.
"This year we have more families that are in need and we understand that and we work harder to make the bundle bigger," Pedro Mesa with Sedano's Supermarkets said at the time.
Mario O. Gutierrez, past president of CAMACOL and PepsiCo executive, started this food drive nearly 40 years ago with only 20 baskets. Before the pandemic it was the largest food basket giveaway in Florida, serving over 15,000 families.
The food bags handed out contain enough food, including pork, rice, side dishes, and drinks, for a family of six to enjoy a nice Noche Buena meal.
The Latin Chamber of Commerce and Industry of USA (Cámara de Comercio e Industria Latina de los Estados Unidos) is the largest Hispanic business organization in Florida.
