Rising Together: 5,000 Meals Served after Earthquake

By: Jennymar Torres (FOPR Volunteer)

Some of us were celebrating Three Kings Day without imagining that in a blink of an eye everything as we knew would change once again. As you might have heard, in Puerto Rico we are still recovering from the devastation of Hurricane Maria from two years ago. I was one of many that were forced to leave our Island and start a new life elsewhere. 

But there’s nothing like celebrating holidays back home, which is why I traveled to Puerto Rico in January. Little did I know that in a few hours everything would change. I was woken up by a sudden shake and then, a major blackout. The earth wouldn’t stop shaking and I was in shock because of the unknown. We were “prepared” to face another hurricane, but not an earthquake. 

It was almost the same feeling during that morning after Hurricane Maria hit the island: no power and no water. Even though we were all affected, I felt the need to help those deeply affected in the south of the Island because the only sure thing was that hundreds of families weren’t able to leave their homes. This is when a group of friends came together to prepare hundreds of meals to take to Peñuelas. A couple of days and a social media post, gathered a group of chefs that were up for the task. 

It was incredible the amount of support received, including from Friends of Puerto Rico. On the first trip to Peñuelas, we gathered in a small camp, where volunteers were waiting to help serve food and deliver it directly to the people of Peñuelas. What started as a day, turned into a five week initiative. We had the opportunity to impact people beyond Peñuelas to other municipalities like Guánica with the help of many volunteers, including Neysa, Special Advisor for FOPR, and donations from other businesses and organizations. 

With the support of organizations like Friends of Puerto Rico, we were able to deliver 5,000 plates of hot food and impact thousands of families in need. Thank you to Chef Jorge Figueroa, Chef Emmanuel Cedeño and Chef David Semiday, donors and volunteers for making this possible. This life changing experience showed me how the people of Puerto Rico come together to rebuild the Island and how a small donation today can have a big impact tomorrow. Even during the most difficult times, I can assure you that Puerto Rico will rise like a phoenix. 

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