A nonprofit serving local immigrants recently hosted a Thanksgiving meal for 100 immigrant families who lost federal food assistance.
The event was intended to send a message to the immigrant community, said Patrick Kearns, executive director of the nonprofit Re:Source Cleveland.
The meals were served inside a building at Ohio City Farm, the nonprofit's urban farm.
“We want to welcome them and use Thanksgiving as a way to say that we're all in this together,” Kearns said.
More than 4,000 Cuyahoga County immigrants lost access to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) starting Nov. 1. U.S. lawmakers said the cuts were to reduce government spending and limit access to benefits for non-citizens. Supporters of this change have also argued that it's necessary to reduce fraud and abuse in the program.
According to an Oct. 9 analysis by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, the population affected includes foreign asylum seekers, refugees and immigrants in the country for humanitarian reasons, such as survivors of trafficking or domestic violence. The changes were enacted in federal legislation signed into law over the summer.
The government's actions represent a complete change in policy toward a community that, in many cases, were invited here by the United States, Kearns said.
“To me, it's a broken promise," he said. "These are families that we have welcomed here.”
Re:Source Cleveland Family Liaison Nahla Abuhamdi prepared more than 700 pieces of chicken, using her own recipe.
“As you see, it smells amazing and looks amazing," she said. "I hope these families can enjoy it. I feel so good that there's warm meal(s) going home to these families.”
Volunteers also prepared and delivered rice and lentils, roasted butternut squash, sweet potatoes and candied onions. A total of more than 600 people received the meals, Kearns said.
Re:Source Cleveland is also making house calls, he said.
“We’ve dialed in on 75 families that have serious issues about transportation or ability to get access to pantries because of chronic health issues," Kearns said. "We are shopping and delivering to their door on a weekly basis right now.”
