At an annual Buford Highway food drive, volunteers prepared grocery boxes for 300 families, but 500 showed up

On Saturday, about 500 families gathered at an elementary school in a largely Latino area along Buford Highway. Speaking a mix of Spanish, English, and indigenous languages, they lined up outside the building to be let into the gym—where boxes filled with vegetables and rice, beans, tortillas, and spices awaited them.

By the end of the morning, organizers with the annual Holiday Healing event, sponsored by the nonprofit We Love Buford Highway and the DeKalb County School District, had distributed roughly 15,000 pounds of food, thanks to the help of nearly 30 volunteers—and a large donation from the Atlanta Community Food Bank. Amigos de la Comunidad, another nonprofit organization operating in the corridor, also gave out about 500 pieces of clothing and 200 winter jackets, and DeKalb Public Health offered free screenings and vaccinations. Even after the food ran out—there only ended up being enough to distribute to about 300 families—attendees stuck around to enjoy free tacos, hot chocolate, and string-instrument performances from We Love BuHi’s youth orchestra program. 

Though the food and clothing drive takes place every year, it was permeated this time around with a sense of worry—with families from Chamblee, Doraville, and surrounding areas concerned about being caught up in the ongoing crackdown by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). “This year, particularly, I would say, has been very difficult—just a lot of fears and a lot of anxiety,” said Lily Pabian, We Love Buford Highway’s executive director. The day before, she mentioned, when she’d been spreading word of the event to some elementary school students getting on buses, one asked: “Is ICE going to be there?”

Holiday Healing might be over, Lily said, but the need remains, and We Love Buford Highway is still looking for both donations and volunteers. One place people can donate both money and time is the organization’s free bodega, which gets groceries to area families in need. Donations to the organization can also cover other community resources: the youth orchestra, free after-school and weekend programs for children from third to eighth grade, and a training program that helps immigrant-owned businesses learn about marketing, budgeting, and staffing.

“We are a community,” Lily said, reflecting on the food drive. “It was an important message that we wanted to come out of this event—not only just feeding families, but that sense of solidarity.”

This holiday season, there are many other ways to support immigrant and refugee communities in the Atlanta area—here are some other ideas.