Hispanic/Latino Heritage Month Spotlight | Sofía García and Marcos Trujillo
During Hispanic/Latino Heritage Month, Eat. Learn. Play. celebrates influential Hispanic and Latino/a leaders in the Oakland community who are doing fantastic work supporting our mission of providing access to the three essential pillars of a healthy childhood — nutrition, education, and physical activity.
Meet Sofía García, Development Coordinator, and Marcos Trujillo, Capacity Development Lead, two amazing team members of our longtime partner Alameda County Community Food Bank (ACCFB). Sofía and Marcos both have a mutual love and respect for service in The Town that is rooted in Oakland’s rich history of diversity, culture, and activism.
Through Eat. Learn. Play.’s continued partnership with ACCFB, we have been able to serve over 6 million fresh meals during 2020 and will continue to provide more fresh meals and groceries to the community through our new Eat. Learn. Play. Bus!
Continue reading about Sofía and Marcos’ work below. Stay tuned this month for more profiles of our friends in the Oakland community.
What do you love most about Oakland?
Sofía: I love Oakland’s diversity. I love saying I am from Oakland. I am very proud of being from Oakland because of all its beauty. We are a town filled with so much culture, food, and music from all over the world, it is unmatched. I love going down to Lake Merritt and seeing all the vendors set up, people hanging out taking in the sun, someone playing the drums down at the amphitheater, and people roller skating down by the Boat House. Above all, I love the food and the power food has to fuel us, connect us, and keep us rooted with the traditions of our culture.
Translation: Amo la diversidad de Oakland. Me encanta decir que soy de Oakland, estoy muy orgulloso de ser de Oakland por toda su belleza. Somos una ciudad llena de tanta cultura, comida y música de todo el mundo, es inigualable. Me encanta ir Lake Merritt y ver a todos los vendedores, gente pasando el rato tomando el sol, alguien tocando la batería en el anfiteatro, gente patinando en el Boat House. Sobre todo me encanta la comida, el poder que tiene la comida para alimentarnos y conectarnos, las tradiciones de la comida y nuestra cultura, nos mantiene en raicado en nuestra cultura.
Marcos: I love the energy and people of Oakland because it is so diverse and truly authentic. Oakland is called the Town because even though it spans a large area, many locals know each other. The saying of “six degrees of separation” doesn't apply here in Oakland; it is “two degrees of separation.” People keep it real, and I truly love living in Oakland.
What does Hispanic/Latino Heritage Month mean to you?
Sofía: It is a time to celebrate our differences and celebrate our vibrant cultures. We are different, but we are also the same in so many ways. Our values, traditions, family, and pride. It is honoring our ancestors and everything that makes us who we are. It is also a time to learn about those differences so we can gain a deeper appreciation for each other’s cultures and traditions.
Translation: Es un momento para celebrar, celebrar nuestras diferencias, celebrar nuestras culturas vibrantes. Somos diferentes pero también somos iguales en muchos sentidos. Nuestros valores, tradiciones, familia, orgullo. Es honrar a nuestros antepasados y todo lo que nos hace quienes somos. También es un momento para aprender sobre esas diferencias para que podamos apreciar más profundamente las culturas y tradiciones de los demás.
Marcos: Hispanic Heritage Month means recognizing your Latino/a roots, celebrating Mexican Independence Day, and drawing attention to other Latin American countries often overlooked. It reminds me of the hard struggle my parents endured to come to this country to start a new life and how they helped shape my life. I love the cultural similarities of Latin American countries, and I hope others learn more about what this month of celebration means to Latino/a people in general.
What does it mean to you personally to be able to support the local community?
Sofía: Through family traditions and values, supporting each other is just something that we do. We see someone in need and we help in any way we can. I see my local community as an extension of my family—I try to connect the community with ACCFB’s resources as often as I can because some people still don’t know we exist and are here to help. I support my community with the hopes that someday, hunger will no longer exist.
Translation: A través de las tradiciones y valores familiares, apoyarnos unos a otros es algo que hacemos. Vemos a alguien que necesita ayuda, lo ayudamos en todo lo que podemos. Veo a mi comunidad como una extensión de mi familia, trato de conectar a la comunidad con los recursos de nuestro banco de alimentos en todas las ocasiones posibles, aún mucha gente no saben que existimos y estamos aquí para ayudarlos. Apoyo a mi comunidad con la esperanza de que algún día deje de existir el hambre.
Marcos: It means a lot to be able to support our local community. As a former Agency Coordinator, it was an honor to help many Oakland organizations provide food to our neighbors. Many of these organizations offer other services to improve the quality of life for our clients. It brought extra joy to help provide basic necessities to our neighbors in need.
How is your organization helping kids and families in the community amid the pandemic?
Sofía: ACCFB has been very innovative during the pandemic. We have a great contactless drive through distribution down on Oakport St. in Oakland across from the Warriors old stomping ground, where the need continues. At ACCFB, we believe every child, adult and senior should have the opportunity to reach their full potential and live vibrant, productive lives. We continue to inform the community about our Policy Agenda and what those policies might mean in the future. In California, we had a recent win on Eradicating Hunger in our Schools with the Universal School Meals Program Act. At ACCFB, we know food distribution alone will not end hunger and that is why we advocate for policies as well. For more information please visit us at: www.accfb.org.
Translation: ACCFB ha innovidado mucho durante la pandemia, tenemos una distribución sin contacto en Oakport, frente al antiguo terreno de los Warriors, donde la necesidad continua. En ACCFB creemos que todos los niños, adultos y personas mayores deben tener la oportunidad de alcanzar su máximo potencial y vivir una vida vibrante y productiva. Seguimos informando a la comunidad sobre nuestra Agenda de políticas y lo que esas políticas podrían significar en el futuro. En California, obtuvimos una victoria reciente sobre la erradicación del hambre en nuestras escuelas con la Ley del Programa de Comidas Escolares Universales. En ACCFB sabemos que la distribución de alimentos por sí sola no acabará con el hambre y es por eso que también defendemos las políticas. Para mas informacion sobre nuestro trabajo visítenos en: www.accfb.org.
Marcos: Alameda County Community Food Bank continues to keep kids and families fed during this ongoing pandemic. From the first days of the pandemic, we went into emergency response mode. I helped stand up our large drive-thru site in Oakland that continues to feed thousands of families a week. We created emergency bags that were easy to distribute to new sites and partnered with many outstanding organizations like Eat. Learn. Play. to further spotlight the rapid response our community truly needed.
