Central Valley restaurants, grocery stores delivering to families who fear ICE patrols

At Carniceria y Taqueria Mexico in Madera, business has been markedly slow.

One of the cashiers, Cynthia Sanchez, attributed the change to increased ICE presence in the region.

“A lot of people aren’t coming out right now,” Sanchez said. “The amount of people we see in the store now compared to a week before it started is really different.”

Sanchez was speaking for the owner, Pedro Falcon, who put out a message on the store’s social media pages on Oct. 12: “We’re here for our community.”

He, along many other small business owners in the Central Valley, are offering aid to those afraid of leaving their homes because of ICE.

The carniceria is offering deliveries, including hot food, groceries and fresh cuts of meat, as well as an option to pay for those deliveries by telephone or in cash.

Garcia’s Supermarket in Kerman is also offering deliveries for people who live within 20 miles of the store. In an online post on Oct. 8, the store posted saying “no estás solo” (”you are not alone”) and “Estamos con nuestra comunidad” (”We’re here for our community”).

These posts came after the store received reports of ICE-affiliated vehicles in the store’s parking lot, but not the store itself.

On Oct. 12, the store shared a video of several people outside Garcia’s Supermarket with signs supporting the undocumented community and protesting the presence of ICE in the region.

Other small businesses, such as WetMato, are also finding ways to help the undocumented community. Patricia Alonzo, the owner, has started offering free orders to families who can’t leave their homes out of concern about ICE.

“I can’t do much, I can’t help everybody, but I already sell plates,” Alonzo said. “If I can help with a free meal, that’s taking a little stress off families.”

Alonzo, who grew up feeling disconnected from her culture after being adopted into a non-Hispanic family, started learning more after she moved to the Central Valley. Her husband’s family includes farmworkers, and she lives near an almond orchard, where she sees people hard at work.

“I wanted to do something more than a post,” Alonzo said.

She sells ceviche, and has had three families reach out to her about not feeling safe enough to leave their homes. Alonzo has not only brought those families food, but also worked with five other small business owners who wanted to help.

Those small businesses donated items, including canned food and baby clothes. The families Alonzo has worked with include children, with ages ranging from infants to those in middle school.

Seeing people willing to help people they don’t know has been very touching for Alonzo, who has continued to sort donations.

“I’m accepting whatever people are willing to turn out with,” Alonzo said.

Other small businesses, like Judging Books by the Cover, a bookstore in Fresno, are donating 10% of their sales to Faith in the Valley’s Valley Watch Network, or posting guides to inform people of their rights, like Madera’s LA Munchies 559, a snack-themed food truck.

“We stand with our people and believe everyone deserves to know their rights,” the business posted on Instagram.

Sanchez, the carneceria cashier in Madera, has also seen people help out in other ways, like picking up groceries for families in their area who might not be able to leave their homes. That double-ordering, as Sanchez put it, is making up for some of the lost sales that the business would normally have during the day.

“Helping out helps businesses too,” Sanchez said.