By Mike Kinney
The spirit of gratitude and giving permeated the 23rd Street corridor Thursday.
After 150 bags filled with groceries were assembled on the corridor for distribution to day laborers at the Home Depot near San Pablo and Macdonald avenues, a pop-up market provided free haircuts, food and clothing to community members at the corner of 23rd Street and Visalia Avenue, where Leftside Printing is located.
It’s all part of the 13th Annual Happy Thanksgiving Richmond Food Giveaway, hosted by the Leftside Printing owner and community advocate Diego Garcia with support from community donations.
We joined Garcia in the morning, hopping onto a truck loaded with bags of groceries to distribute to the day laborers who seek work at the Home Depot. Thankful workers lined up to receive each bag containing about $50 in food, including beans, rice, tortillas, cooking oil, coffee, sugar and other foods.
We then drove back to Leftside Printing, where an outdoor barber shop and beauty salon provided free services thanks to the generous staffs at Lil Mermaid Beauty Salon, Thee Salon, Motivos Mayah, La Riviera, and Golden Gate Shears.
Meanwhile, an outdoor cafeteria behind Leftside Printing fed the community, and community members could pick up items at a free clothing pop-up.
“This is what it it is all about, an emphasis on giving thanks and honoring the people working to make Richmond a better place to live and work,” Garcia said.
The sponsors of the 13th Annual Happy Thanksgiving Richmond Food Giveaway were Richmond Sol and Leftside Printing, DRI/3 Kings, Las Montanas, La Raza Market, La Loma #11, Amigo Tires, Los Primos Market and Lil Mermaid Beauty Salon. Plus USA Carpet, Sunlight Progreso and Generation Vision & Future.
