Non Profit Hands Out Nearly 2000 Meals to Gov Workers Amidst Shutdown

Amidst an on-going government shutdown, a local non-profit handed out nearly 2,000 free meals to federal workers.

Eddie Martinez 7 months ago 0

DEL RIO, TX — Finding our Brothers and Sisters, or FOB, is a non profit whose mission is to support struggling veterans connect to resources like affordable housing or mental health care. Amidst an on-going government shutdown that has no end in sight, they decided to help feed federal workers of Del Rio by giving out nearly 2,000 meals on Monday.

Celso Barrientos and Adrian Vitela are veterans and cofounders of FOB. They say they began hearing from local veterans whose lives were affected by the government shutdown. They considered different ways to help support them and decided that food aid would be the way to reach as many individuals as possible. With help from food donors and dozens of volunteers, their event was organized to function like a drive-through, where ticket-holding government workers would pickup meals for themselves and family members.

“We tried to come up with a plan to help that doesn’t leave certain members of the community out. So we decided to feed [verified government workers] with a hot meal,” says Barrientos.

Barrientos also says their method of connecting furloughed workers to meals was by starting with Laughlin AFB leadership who would then identify and offer such workers tickets for their FOB handout. Furloughed workers were able to receive multiple tickets for each member of their family.

Barrientos and Vitela both have a clear passion for veterans, active service members, and people in general. Their efforts on Monday even garnered unsolicited monetary donations, although the food aid event was not a fundraiser. Celso says one donor handed them $400 cash in support of their relief operation; a sign of community togetherness in these trying times.

“We’re not alone, they’re not alone, nobody’s alone. We’re here and we’re going to fight this together,” says Vitela.

A large part of their volunteer team were local high school students, which Barrientos says represents a strong sense of community.

“FOB Del Rio would be nothing without the community. We see the support out here not just from ourselves but from the youth as well which shows us that we’re making a difference and we wouldn’t be able to do it without them.”

More about Finding Our Brothers and Sisters can be learned here, and you can follow them on Facebook.